Parliament this week
Following the President's State of the Nation Address (SONA) held at the Cape Town City Hall last Thursday, the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will jointly converge again for two days of debate on the Address at hybrid sittings, tomorrow, Monday, 14 February and Tuesday, 15 February 2022. The sittings will start at 2 pm on both days.
The debate provides an opportunity for Members of Parliament to ask questions, make comments, and debate on the content of the President's SONA speech over two days. Several oversight committees are also scheduled to conduct discussions on the content of the President's Address and its implication on their work.
On Wednesday, 16 February, President Ramaphosa will reply to the debate at 2 pm. Again, it will be a hybrid joint sitting.
The reply of the President on 16 February will bring to an end the status of the City Hall as the precincts of Parliament, and the business of Parliament will return to the regular precincts of Parliament at Parliament Street.
On 23 February, the Minister of Finance will deliver the 2022 Budget to a hybrid sitting of the National Assembly in the Good Hope Chamber at Parliament precincts.
This week, other items on the Parliamentary programme include the Programming committee meetings of both Houses, forty-five (45) committee meetings, and two virtual report back sessions of the 2021 Women's Charter for Accelerated Development programme.
On Thursday at 08:30 am, both the NA and the NCOP are scheduled to hold their respective virtual programming committee meetings to plan for the business of the Houses. Amongst others, matters to be discussed will include consideration of the hybrid plenary sittings, committee reports, Bills before the Houses, and the upcoming programme for the two Houses of Parliament.
On Friday, the NCOP Deputy Chairperson, Ms Sylvia Lucas, and the NA Deputy Speaker, Mr Lechesa Tsenoli, will host two virtual meetings to resume the Women's Charter for Accelerated Development Report Back Sessions programme.
The first session will start at 09:00 with the two Presiding Officers hosting the KwaZulu-Natal province, and the second virtual session to be held at 15:00 with the Gauteng province.
In the past two years, Parliament embarked on nationwide provincial 1994 Women's Charter Review sessions that were mainly aimed at taking stock of the progress made in implementing the 1994 Women's Charter for Effective Equality and assessing its impact since the advent of freedom and democracy.
The 2021 Women's Charter for Accelerated Development Report Back sessions will see the provincial and local government leadership reporting on feedback received following engagements with stakeholders from several district municipalities in the respective provinces.
The forty-five (45) scheduled committee meetings for this week include:
Tuesday, 14 February
Standing Committee on Finance: Briefing by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Mutual Evaluation Report.
Standing Committee on Appropriations: Briefing by National Treasury on the 2021/22 third quarter expenditure report for national departments and identified state-owned companies and agencies.
Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs: Briefing by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on the First, Second and Third Quarter Performance and Expenditure Reports for 2021-22. Briefing by the Researcher and the Content Advisor on the impact of the State of National Address (SONA) on the work of the Committee and the programmes of the Department of Home Affairs.
Portfolio Committee on Tourism: Analysis of the 2022 State of the Nation Address (SONA); lifting and processing issues emanating from SONA as related to the tourism sector.
Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture: Briefing by the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS) on its 2020/2021 Annual Report and other matters; Overview by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture on the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS).
Portfolio Committee on Transport: Briefing by the Minister of Transport on the festive season road accident fatalities; Deliberations on the Economic Regulation of Transport Bill [B 1- 2020]: Consideration of further written submissions on the proposed additional amendments to the Bill.
Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development: Consideration of the 2021/22 quarterly reports (Q1, 2 and 3) and Audit Improvement Plans of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and its entities; Consideration of the 2020/21 Financial Report of the Ingonyama Trust.
Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services: Briefing on the implementation of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act.
Standing Committee on Public Accounts: Briefing by the National Prosecuting Authority on cases referred to it by the Special Investigating Unit.
Wednesday, 16 February 2022
Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour: Briefing by the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) on the Performance in Q1 (2021/22) of the: Compensation Fund (CF); and Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
Standing Committee on Finance: Briefing by Nedlac and the BBBEE Commission on Transformation in the Financial Sector and update on the Financial Sector Summit.
Standing Committee on Appropriations: Briefing by the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer on requests for contract deviations and expansions for the third quarter of the 2021/22 financial year.
Portfolio Committee on Police: Introduction of the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedure Amendment Bill [B25 – 2021] by the CSPS; Consideration of underspending by SAPS.
Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements: Briefing by the Office of the Auditor-General on the First Special Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Management of Government’s Covid-19 Initiatives [RP 294 – 2020].
Select Committee on Transport, Public Service and Administration, Public Works and Infrastructure: Briefing by the Passenger Rail of South Africa (PRASA) on its Annual Report 2020/21.
Select Committee on Education and Technology, Sport, Arts and Culture: Consideration and adoption of Committee 1st term programme and draft minutes; Briefing on the 2021 National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examinations Outcomes by: Department of Basic Education (DBE); and Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi).
Thursday,17 February 2022
Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration - Sub-Committee Meeting: Interviews for filling of vacancies of Commissioners for the Public Service Commission.
Joint Meeting: Standing Committee on Finance and Select Committee on Finance: Processing of draft regulations of Parliament made under section 65(1) and in compliance with the Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act (Act No 10 of 2009).
Joint Standing Committee on Defence: Briefing by the Minister on the Forensic Report on 1 Military Hospital and related matters; Review of Annual Performance Plan of Committee; Briefing by the DOD on the fire that took place at Waterkloof Airforce Base; Consideration of minutes.
Friday, 18 February 2022
Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration - Sub-Committee Meeting: Interviews for filling of vacancies of Commissioners for the Public Service Commission.
Portfolio Committee on Environment, Forestry and Fisheries: Discussion on the status of Waste Management in South Africa: Roles in and Responsibilities for Waste Management (national, provincial and local governments; private and informal sectors; and civil society role & responsibility); and Challenges, opportunities and the way forward for optimizing sustainable waste management.
For the latest full schedule of Committee meetings (updated regularly), please visit:
https://www.parliament.gov.za/committee-schedules
Enquiries:
Moloto Mothapo
Cell: 082 370 6930
