Budgets, oversight, questions to President, Deputy President and President’s annual address to NCOP among key issues coming up
Minister of Finance Mr Nhlanhla Nene will deliver the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) to the National Assembly (NA) next Wednesday (21 October).
Before this – from 13 to 20 October - NA committees are scheduled to process budget review and recommendation reports from all government departments and on 20 November the NA is scheduled to consider and decide on the report of the Standing Committee on Finance on the MTBPS and the reports of the Standing Committee on Appropriations on the MTBPS and on the Adjustments Appropriation Bill.
This quarter’s process in the budget cycle was preceded, in the second quarter, by presentations to Parliamentary committees from government departments on their annual performance plans, strategic plans and budgets and quarterly plans.
Deliberations on these fed into the annual round of Budget Vote debates and concluded with consideration of the Appropriation Bill by the NA and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in June. It was initiated, in the first quarter, with the President’s State of the Nation Address, Budget Speech from Minister Nene, tabling of government departments’ strategic plans and consideration of the Division of Revenue Bill.
The forthcoming quarter will also feature answers from the Executive to questions for oral reply – in addition to written answers to questions from Members - and the Taking Parliament to the People programme and oversight visits by Portfolio Committees.
The Deputy President is scheduled to answer questions for oral reply in the NCOP on 4 November and on 11 November in the NA. The President is scheduled to do so on 19 November in the NA. Ministers in the Peace and Security Cluster, the Economics cluster and the Governance cluster are also scheduled to answer questions for oral reply this quarter.
The President is scheduled to deliver his annual address to the NCOP in November, at the conclusion of the Taking Parliament to the People programme. The programme, which has been running since 2002, will, in November, involve a report-back to the people of Oudtshoorn in the Eden District Municipality of the Western Cape, which the NCOP visited in April to get first-hand input on issues in the area.
The first democratic Parliament had to repeal and replace hundreds of laws to undo the racially based past and give expression to our democratic, non-racial Constitution. Subsequent democratic Parliaments, however, have increasingly had to focus on whether the new laws and policies are having their intended outcome.
The fifth democratic Parliament’s central theme is to oversee implementation of the National Development Plan. Its priorities, based on the Constitution and an assessment of the preceding 20 years of a democratic Parliament, are strengthening oversight and accountability, enhancing public involvement, deepening engagement in international fora and strengthening co-operative governance and legislative capacity.
Since the beginning of 2015, Parliamentary committees have held more than 900 committee meetings, conducted more than 50 oversight visits, received more than 30 petitions from members of the public and community based organisations and processed a wide range of bills and policies. Processing these bills and policies has involved public hearings and public input.
Recent examples include hearings on the Expropriation Bill, the question of a national minimum wage; climate change, rhino poaching and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; and the Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill.
Parliament has also participated in a number of engagements of international institutions. These include hosting the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum Plenary Assembly in July and hosting a forthcoming conference of the Inter Parliamentary Union and United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Details of this conference will be provided in due course.
