Parliament convenes plenary sittings, 9 to 12 Feb

07 Feb 2021

A Joint Sitting of the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will kick off the programme of formal plenary sittings of Parliament this week - with Committees scheduled to hold about 13 meetings.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called the Joint Sitting of the two Houses, on Thursday at 19:00, to deliver the State of the Nation Address – a first without the ceremonial procession since the dawn of democracy and in a form of a hybrid sitting (with Members of Parliament (MPs) present in the chamber and others join on an online platform).

The sitting will be held in strict adherence with the Covid-19 level 3 lockdown regulations.

The Presiding Officers are also scheduled to hold a media briefing this week on the state of readiness to host SONA 2021 and outline the final programme.

Also scheduled this week, a virtual Women Charter Review Session will take place on Friday, 12 February in Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Mpumalanga. The virtual session will start at 15:00. The Women’s Charter Review Sessions are led by the Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Ms Sylvia Lucas and the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Lechesa Tsenoli.

Committees started holding meetings as early as 07 January and have dealt with various matters including oversight visits to border posts, assessment of schools’ readiness to reopen, and the Department of Health’s issues with oxygen suppliers amongst others.

There are 13 committee meetings scheduled for this week to deal with various legislation and provide updates on the implementation of service delivery targets as outlined below:

Tuesday, 9 February 2021

Select Committee on Finance - Consideration of public submissions on the Audit Profession Amendment Bill

Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development - Briefing on the 2019/20 Annual Report by the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB); Briefing by the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development on progress registered on the release of state land for agricultural purposes

Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs - Briefing by the Minister of Home Affairs and the Department of Home Affairs on their preparations and readiness to open the Ports of Entry; Progress update by the Minister of Home Affairs on the development of the policy and the development of the legislation to amend the Electoral Act to allow independent candidates to participate in the National and Provincial Elections; Briefing by Hon. M Lekota on the Electoral Laws Second Amendment Bill [B34 – 2020]

Portfolio Committee on Basic Education - Consideration and adoption of Draft Minutes and Draft Report; Briefing by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) on: Updated Status on NSC Examination Marking; Trends in International Mathematical and Science Study (TIMSS) Report]

Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy - Briefing by the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform on their 2019 / 2020 Annual Report and Annual Performance Plan

Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy - Briefing by the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries on their 2019 / 2020 Annual Report and Annual Performance Plan; Consideration and Adoption of Minutes

Wednesday, 10 February 2021

Portfolio Committee on Transport - Deliberations on the Economic Regulation of Transport Bill [B 1 – 2020]; Consideration of submissions on the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill [B 7 – 2020] and confirmation of dates of public hearings on the Bill

Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs - Consideration of the NCOP amendments to Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill [B19D-2018]; Adoption of Committee minutes; Consideration of the NCOP amendments to the Customary Initiation Bill [B21D-2018]

Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration - Briefing by the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation on the first and second quarter performance of 2020/21 financial year; Briefing by the Statistics South Africa on the first and second quarter performance of 2020/21 financial year; Briefing by the Brand South Africa on the first and second quarter performance of 2020/21 financial year

Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development - Consideration and adoption of the 2021 Committee Quarter One Programme; Consideration and Adoption of minutes

Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans - Briefing by the Advisory Council on Military Veterans on its Report for the Term (December 2015 to June 2020); Consideration and adoption of the Report of the PC on Defence and Military Veterans on its visit to the landline borders; Consideration and Adoption of outstanding minutes

Select Committee on Transport, Public Service and Administration, Public Works and Infrastructure - Briefing by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB on its Annual Report 2019/20)