South Africa: Happening in Parliament this Week

Members of the National Assembly embark on a constituency period from tomorrow until 13 August 

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 18, 2018,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- Deputy President David Mabuza is scheduled to answer questions for oral reply at the National Council of Provinces plenary House sitting on Thursday. These regular oral question and answer sessions – in both the National Council of Provinces and the National Assembly – are one of the ways in which Parliament holds the Executive to account.

Thursday’s sitting of the National Council of Provinces is also scheduled to consider a policy debate on Budget Vote 4 (Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs) and reports from the Select Committee on Petitions and Executive Undertakings and the Select Committee on Security and Justice.

On Tuesday, the National Council of Provinces’ sitting is scheduled to consider two policy debates on Budget Votes – Budget Vote 17 (Social Development) and Budget Vote 16 (Health) – among other matters.

Members of the National Assembly embark on a constituency period from tomorrow until 13 August.

However, some of the National Assembly’s committees, and those of the National Council of Provinces, are scheduled to hold meetings this week to consider nine Bills, issues of public concern, strategic and annual performance plans and reports of government departments and entities.

Bills scheduled to feature at parliamentary committee meetings this week are the Appropriation Bill, the National Minimum Wage Bill, the Labour Laws Amendment Bill, the Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill, the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, the National Environmental Laws Amendment Bill, the Political Party Funding Bill, the Protection, Promotion, Development and Management of Indigenous Knowledge Bill and the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill.

The Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform is scheduled to hold public hearings on the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill in all nine provinces. This week, hearings are scheduled for the Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape. The Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill seeks to amend the 1994 Restitution of Land Rights Act by, among other things, amending the cut-off date for lodging of land claims by those dispossessed of property in terms of section 25(7) of the Constitution. This section states: “A person or community dispossessed of property after 19 June 1913 as a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices is entitled, to the extent provided by an Act of Parliament, either to restitution of that property or to equitable redress”.

Committee meetings scheduled at Parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday include:

Select Committee on Social Services: Briefing by the National Development Agency on its Annual Performance Plan; briefing by the Central Drug Authority on its Annual Performance Plan; briefing by the Electoral Commission (IEC) on the state of readiness in preparation for the elections – Tuesday

Select Committee on Economic and Business Development: Consideration of written submissions on the Labour Laws Amendment Bill, the Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill, the National Minimum Wage Bill and the Labour Relations Amendment Bill – Tuesday

Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs: Consideration and adoption of the National Environmental Laws Amendment Bill, among other matters – Tuesday

Select Committee on Appropriations: Briefing by National Treasury on the 2018 Appropriation Bill and consideration and adoption of a draft report on the Bill – Wednesday

Select Committee on Communications and Public Enterprises: Consideration of final mandates on the Protection, Promotion, Development and Management of Indigenous Knowledge Bill – Wednesday

Ad Hoc Committee on Funding of Political Parties: Public hearing on the Political Party Funding Bill – Wednesday

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.