The first term of Parliament officially ended on 01 April and MPs are on recess until 19 April 2022.

The year started with a devastating fire that gutted large parts of the National Assembly. This had a ripple effect as it stalled Parliament’s plan to return to in-person sittings and meetings. It also meant that the State of the Nation Address had to be relocated outside the parliamentary precinct – the Cape Town City Hall –for the first time ever.

Here is a rundown of the highlights:

 

SONA and Budget

President Ramaphosa delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday, 10 February 2022, in which he set out government’s key objectives and deliverables, and announced a number of legislative proposals for 2022.

The subsequent debates were typically robust, with the President facing some tough questions from the opposition benches. Although some parties were agreeable to some of government’s proposals, most were critical of the Executive’s inability to address socio-economic challenges, particularly the rising unemployment rate and the decay in many state-owned enterprises, and they put forward their own reform agendas as an alternative to the President’s speech.

Almost a fortnight after the President’s SONA, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered the Budget Speech. Due to a growth in tax-revenue, largely thanks to strong commodity prices, the Minister announced several tax relief measures to assist in the country’s economic recovery.  

The budget presented by the Minister is not the final budget but a proposal that Parliament is currently scrutinizing and must approve over the next few months.

 

Ministerial Briefing Sessions and Plenary Sittings

Ministerial Briefing Sessions are now a regular feature of the NCOP’s programme. They serve as a platform for the Executive and provinces to discuss and highlight national and provincial perspectives on issues. This term, there was a focus on human settlements and water and sanitation.

Both Houses also arranged several interesting debates:

• 15 March- Debate on Urgent Matter of National Public Importance (The Leader of
• the Opposition): The impact of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine on the South African economy [NA]
• 17 March-  Debate on State Capacity: Building a developmental state to take the lead in building a better life for all [NCOP]
• 24 March- Debate on the relevance and success of Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment and Employment Equity legislation [NCOP]

As per the norm, the President, Deputy President and Ministers appeared to answer oral questions from MPs.

 

Committees and ministerial attendance

There was newsworthy action in the virtual committee corridors with 361 meetings held this term, the bulk of them in the National Assembly.

Notably, April marks two years since Parliament amended its Rules to allow for virtual proceedings and held its first virtual committee meeting on 10 April 2020. The virtual Parliament is limiting and imperfect but the experimentation with technology has enabled the legislature to fulfil its essential function during and beyond the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding this, there are growing calls for in-person meetings and we will see how Parliament addresses this.

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) met 17 times, and has been at the forefront of tackling errant SOEs and departments. The Committee has been focused on briefings on irregular expenditures, follow-ups on investigations and poor performance at various entities.

Gender issues received a lot of attention this term with the Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities meeting 11 times. The bulk of these were briefings on reports published by the Commission for Gender Equality on issues such as transformation and representation in the public and private sectors. At the end of March, the Joint Multi-Party Women’s Caucus also received progress reports on the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-based Violence (GBV) and Femicide from several departments and agencies. These included the Department of Justice and Correctional Services, the South African Police Service, the Department of Basic Education, the Department of Higher Education and Training, the Department of Health and Brand South Africa.

On ministerial attendance, Ministers and their deputies made 173 appearances before committees this term, a significant uptick from last term’s 82. Typically, they attend committee meetings for crucial events such as the introduction of legislation as well as the tabling of annual performance plans and annual reports. Beyond this, they are invited to address major topical issues that are in the public domain.

The top three best attendees of committee meetings this term were Ministers Barbra Creecy (7), Thandi Modise and Angie Motshekga (6). On the other end of the spectrum, twelve Ministers only availed themselves before parliamentary committees once this term. *

 

Statutory Appointments

Following due processes, Parliament filled vacancies at the following statutory bodies: Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA); Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) Board, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Board, and the Public Service Commission (PSC).

It has been two months since the interviews for the Inspector- General of Intelligence vacancy took place. It appears that there is still ongoing negotiation and discussion on a suitable candidate as a two-thirds majority, or 267 votes is required for the appointment. The approved candidate will then be appointed by the President in terms of section 7(1) of the Intelligence Services Oversight Act.

 

Legislation

On the legislative front, 10 bills were introduced during this period. Apart from the budget bills; the Climate Change Bill, the Electoral Amendment Bill and the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill were some of the main ones.

Two Bills were passed by Parliament and 10 were signed and assented to by the President (the total includes five assented to in mid-January before Parliament officially opened for the year).

                                    [Parliament Preview 2022: Legislation]

The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs concluded its provincial leg of the public participation process on the Electoral Amendment Bill towards the end of March, having spent the better part of its first term crisscrossing the nine provinces gathering views on the Bill. The Committee held 27 public meetings, in which on average 20 speakers spoke per public meeting. As public participation has now been concluded, the Committee is expected to meet next term to consider all the submissions made during both physical and virtual public hearings. The Department of Home Affairs will be invited to give its views on the submissions and then a report will be drafted, leading to the consideration of the updated version/s of the Bill [Tracking the Electoral Reform Legislation in Parliament].

A day before Parliament drew to a close, the National Assembly granted permission to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services to extend the subject of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill. An amended Bill, incorporating the three new matters, will be published for a second round of public participation.

In addition, processing of the National Health Insurance Bill, Children’s Amendment Bill, Expropriation Bill and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Bill is still underway.

On 31 March, in an effort to mitigate the impact of escalating fuel prices, the Minister of Finance tabled a proposal before Parliament to temporarily reduce the general fuel levy by R1.50c per litre, for the period 6 April to 31 May 2022. The proposal was included in the amended draft 2022 Rates and Monetary Amount and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill published the next day.

 

Public Protector Matter

The Committee on Section 194 Inquiry resumed its work on 22 February 2022, after a six-month hiatus due to court processes. The Committee resolved to appoint two Evidence Leaders to assist it. The role of the Evidence Leaders is limited to presenting the evidence and putting questions to the Public Protector or other witnesses with the aim of empowering the Committee to assess the merits of the evidence in line with its mandate.

The Public Protector has applied to the court to challenge the current proceedings of the Committee. However, Parliament’s Spokesperson put out a statement saying “the legislature will defend its constitutional right to hold heads of Chapter 9 institutions accountable for their actions and to determine its internal processes without any undue interference. Parliament will therefore oppose the Public Protector’s court application, and the Inquiry was continuing”.

According to the NA’s programme, the Committee process is expected to conclude in September 2022. [Public Protector Matter in Parliament: What You Need To Know]

 

Two Motions of No Confidence

The parliamentary term ended with two motions of no confidence: the first in the President (sponsored by the African Transformation Movement and in terms of section 102 (2) of the Constitution) and the second in the Cabinet (sponsored by the Democratic Alliance and in terms of section 102 (1) of the Constitution).

However, on the day of the vote, the ATM decided not to move the motion after the Speaker refused to accede to the party’s request for a secret ballot. The ATM took the Speaker to court on an urgent basis, but the case was struck off the roll for the lack of urgency two days before the vote. The ATM motion therefore lapsed from the parliamentary programme, and the party was advised to submit afresh when it is ready to do so.

The DA motion of no confidence in the Cabinet proceeded by open ballot: 231 MPs voted against it, 131 supported it and one MP abstained.

 

Zondo Commission

In early March, following release of the first tranche of the Zondo Commission Report, the Speaker, during an NA Programming Committee meeting, told Members that she had received a letter from the President stating he would submit the Report to Parliament four months after receipt of the complete Report from the Commission, together with his proposed implementation plans in respect of the Report recommendations. Parliament’s Rules Committee would then meet to discuss the processing of the Report. This may as well entail referring some aspects of the Report to particular committees. To the extent that the Report deals with the role of Parliament as a constitutional body, depending on the issues raised, the Joint Rules Committee will deal with the matters.

The Speaker however added Parliament could not be conclusive on the process outlined above until the Report is formally tabled.

 

Some of the key numbers and activities are unpacked on the infographic below: