That week in Parliament

On Thursday, all eyes will be fixated on Parliament for the State of the Nation Address (SONA). The speech, due to be delivered at 19:00 before a combined gathering of Parliament, the Judiciary and the public, will be a report on the economic 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...

It's still early days but Parliament is slowly coming back to life after a lengthy summer break. The legislature has planned a broad programme this week after a low-key start. With no sittings scheduled in the main chambers, the Committee corridor...

“I can only hope that none of those to whom an oath of office will be administered would see that exercise as just one those inconvenient processes that one has to go through, itching to occupy an office rather than determined to internalise the...

It’s a week of farewells and loose ends… The constituency period beckons, with MPs due to depart at the end of the week and return to Parliament next year. But a fair amount of work will be done before they go and there is plenty of opportunity for...

In the remaining days, lawmakers are scheduled to have debates, pass the amended budget, vote on several Bills, scrutinise/question the Executive, discuss the legislature’s programme, adopt new rules, conduct oversight visits, consider statutory...

Question Time and Legislation are the main parliamentary business this week. Legislators in the National Assembly chamber will probe the Deputy President and selected Ministers in the Social Services Cluster during their scheduled oral reply question...

There are four weeks left until Parliament rises for the year. In the remaining days, lawmakers are scheduled to vote on several Bills, approve government spending, scrutinise government performance, consider statutory appointments and instruments and...

The endgame of the parliamentary year is fast approaching. There are only five weeks left before the legislature rises and loose ends are gradually being knitted together. Following last week’s presentation of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement...

With the much-awaited presentation of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) having come and gone, our weekly blog gleans into the role of Parliament in the processing and approval of the mini-budget.  A budget is the most important economic...