That week in Parliament

The constituency period beckons, with MPs due to depart at the end of the week and return to Parliament on 17 April 2018. There is no opportunity to go through the motions as a fair amount of heavy-duty business will be done before they go. In the...

In comparison to recent weeks, there's a slight lull in Parliament as the legislature makes the most of the mid-week public holiday. The National Assembly has only set aside one day for parliamentary business in the main chamber. Elsewhere, the NCOP...

The President's oral question session on Wednesday is the high point of the parliamentary week. The President is required to answer questions of national or international importance once per term in accordance with the annual parliamentary programme....

There's a broad and busy flavour to this week's parliamentary business. It's no exaggeration to say that everyday will deliver blockbuster action. In the National Assembly chamber, the main excitement will be the Question Time session with the...

The main plenary event – that is likely to overshadow everything else – is the debate on the EFF motion to expropriate land without compensation. The motion will be lead by Julius Malema. The party’s resolution calls on Parliament to establish a...

An eclectic week of parliamentary action beckons. The 2018 Budget, SONA debate, legislative business and Committee hearings feature. Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba's budget speech on Wednesday will dominate headlines this week. The Minister has a...

The Fifth Parliament has given us a lot of “firsts”. It achieved another last week. Even by its unpredictable standards, the decision to postpone the State of the Nation Address (SONA) was extraordinary. The stated rationale for the postponement is to...

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 President to simultaneously lay out his agenda and reassure doubters - both local and foreign....

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, Cabinet, the Judiciary and the public, will seek to build on the...

1. What is the SONA? It is an annual address given by the President to a joint session of Parliament. It is designed to be a report on the economic and social state of the nation, and includes a review of the past year and priorities for the current...