That week in Parliament

MPs head back to Parliament this week for the second term. This session runs for five weeks and will be packed with activities. Some of highlights include Committee and oversight work; oral questions to the Executive; important debates; training of...

Parliament’s first term ended last week. According to the programme, the term was 11 weeks but the main thrust of the work was compressed into the final 5 weeks of the quarter. A lot was done in this first term: new parliamentary leadership was...

“Training must be integrated in our budget because it is absolutely crucial. We can see the value and even those people who have now left Parliament and gone through this support are absolutely grateful for the academic levels they have reached while...

The Constitution of South Africa empowers the Executive to prepare and initiate legislation. Similarly, Parliament (through its committees) and individual MPs also have initiating power but the vast majority of legislation (92%) is introduced by the...

A lot was packed into the first term of the Sixth Parliament. New Members were registered, sworn-in and received training. In addition, the legislature elected new leadership, had a second State of the Nation Address, set up structures, and assigned...

There were 39 unfinished bills when the Fifth Parliament ended. According to National Assembly Rule 333 (2), these bills lapsed automatically when Parliament was dissolved on 7 May 2019 Find a list of lapsed bills...

After several intense weeks, there is a slight lull in the parliamentary agenda for the coming week. Most of the significant business is in the main chambers while the committee corridor takes a backseat. The programme has a distinct end of term feel...

It’s another week where Parliament’s schedule is dominated by Budget Vote Debates. These debates happen in the mini-plenary sittings of the National Assembly and are headlined by Ministers, their deputies, party leaders and senior MPs. This period is...

The Week Ahead: Budget Vote Debates Parliament will largely be consumed by Budget Vote debates this week. These debates provide an opportunity for Parliament to discuss and then formally adopt the budgets of government departments and entities. The...

The Sixth Parliament is now fully in swing! Chairpersons have been elected and Members are furiously busy scrutinizing performance plans and budgets. This would be a useful time to familiarize yourself  with some parliamentary parlance! We’ve all...