That week in Parliament

Written Questions & Replies have been a long established feature of parliamentary democracies. They form part of a motley of critical oversight mechanisms and play a crucial role in holding the Executive accountable.   Legislators in many countries...

COVID-19 STATE OF DISASTER On 11 February, the State of Disaster was extended to 15 March. On 13 February, more changes were made to the disaster management regulations for Covid-19 adjusted lockdown level three (as amended on 1 February): allowing...

It’s taken a few weeks but Parliament is finally firing on all cylinders with plenty of action beckoning in both the main chambers and the Committee corridor. The main event will be the joint debate on the State of the Nation...

COVID-19 STATE OF DISASTER The disaster management regulations for adjusted lockdown level three have been amended to reflect eased restrictions announced on 1 February by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The amendments: reduce the curfew by one hour (23:00...

Link to full Research Introduction Our overall intention with this project is to support transparency and public access to information. We did this by assessing how often parliamentary committees rely on requests for information in addition to that...

On Thursday, all eyes will be fixated on Parliament for the State of the Nation Address (SONA). It’s one of the most important speeches that the President delivers in any year. With a prime time tv audience, it is a tremendous PR opportunity for the...

COVID-19 STATE OF DISASTER Transport Ministerial directives gazetted on 29 January have confirmed the measures already in place under adjusted lockdown level three at: seaports airports across the rail transport sector by passenger road transport...

It's still early days and Parliament is slowly coming back to life after a lengthy summer break. The first term will run for 8 weeks and will be an action-packed and eventful period. The major highlights include: State of the Nation Address (SONA) and...

1. What is the SONA? It is an annual address given by the President to a joint session of Parliament and marks the official opening of the legislature. It is designed to be a report on the economic and social state of the nation, and includes a review...

COVID-19 STATE OF DISASTER Education On 22 January, a ministerial directive confirmed: the dates on which state schools should reopen to school management teams, teaching assistants, administrative staff, other educators and, on 15 February, to...