That week in Parliament

The constituency period beckons with MPs in the National Assembly due to depart at the end of the week and return to Parliament on 8 October 2018.  The term for NCOP delegates will conclude a week later. There is no opportunity to go through the...

It's a busy week in the main chambers. Everything from Executive Question Time, to debates, to legislative business, to statutory appointments and motions dominate the plenary agenda. In the NA, the main highlight is the oral question session with the...

The major points of interest in the National Assembly chamber will come from high-profile Question Time sessions and detailed legislating. On Thursday, the Deputy President will have his regular engagement with lawmakers when he appears to answer oral...

A combination of a heavy legislative load, the President's appearance, two conferences, debates and some important meetings, should mean plenty of fizz. The President's oral question session on Wednesday is the high point. The President is required to...

Now that the National Assembly has also returned from constituency break (the NCOP resumed at the end of July), it feels like the real start of the new term. The third term will run for 5-8 weeks and will be packed with activities. Some of the...

National Assembly Speaker, Baleka Mbete, earlier this year indicated that she had written to newly appointed Deputy President, David Mabuza, to ‘complain about the absence of ministers during question time in the National Assembly’. In response, the...

WHY PARLIAMENTS MATTER 30 June 2018 marks #WorldParliamentDay. All over the world, parliaments exist to represent the people to ensure government by the people– this is said it to be the most profoundly important role parliament plays as an...

Saturday, 16 June 2018, marks Youth Day and an ideal opportunity to reflect on the ages of our Members of Parliament. In South Africa, our definition of youth is someone under the age of 35[1]. We are often told that SA has a young population so it is...

The constituency period beckons, with MPs in the National Assembly due to depart at the end of the week and return to Parliament on 14 August 2018. There is no opportunity to go through the motions as a fair amount of heavy-duty business will be done...

A combination of a heavy legislative load, some important hearings and the pending recess break should mean plenty of fizz in Parliament this week. With the NA chamber having its final sitting of the term last week and a fairly pedestrian agenda in...