The second parliamentary term ran for ten weeks and concluded on 23 June. NCOP delegates are to return to Parliament on 01 August and NA MPs on 28 August.

We unpack the highlights from this term. 

Budget 2023

A significant part of the parliamentary term was spent processing and passing the 2023 Budget and the two Bills introduced on Budget Day, namely: the Division of Revenue Bill, and the Appropriation Bill. For the 2023/24 financial year, a total of R1.08 trillion is appropriated- a nominal increase from last year’s R1.06 trillion. 74% of the proposed vote allocations go towards transfers and subsidies. This concluded Parliament’s processing of the 2023 Budget. Parliament’s responsibility concerning the budget is an ongoing, rolling process throughout the financial year. In October, government departments will have an opportunity to apply for adjustments to their budgets, apply for rollovers, and request additional funds for unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditures during the mini-budget process.

From 9 May till early June, Parliament’s schedule was dominated by Budget Vote debates. The debates allowed for Parliament and the public to be updated about what departments are doing, how they are performing and exactly how public funds are being used. This is the last budget for the current administration before the 2024 elections.

During Parliament’s Budget Vote debate, NA Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula indicated that the total budget for Parliament amounted to R4.4 Billion and the total allocation received from the National Treasury was R3.9 billion. The R456 million shortfall will be funded by retained earnings, donor funding and revenue of Parliament. She said the baseline reductions had caused significant strain on the budget and will need to be addressed by cost-saving measures that Parliament has already initiated. Also, Parliament will soon embark on preparing the Strategic Plan and budgeting for the Seventh Parliament. There will be engagements with National Treasury to ensure that the Seventh Parliament is fully funded.

Committees

There was newsworthy action in the committee corridor with 401 meetings held this term, 72% of them in the NA. Although more meetings have been held in the parliamentary precinct this term since the start of COVID, the bulk of meetings were still virtual as all committees cannot sit physically due to a shortage of venues.

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) met 14 times this term and foremost on its agenda has been the investigation into allegations of financial impropriety and the misuse of public funds at Eskom. Following an explosive eNCA interview in March in which former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter made corruption allegations against ANC politicians and members of the Executive, SCOPA invited de Ruyter to brief the committee on 26 April. The Committee also received updates on investigations by the Special Investigating Unit in entities such as SAA and Denel.

Shortly after it became public knowledge that convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester had escaped, the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services convened successive meetings with all role players including the Ministers of Police and Justice. These engagements laid bare not only many of the details of the escape but also the systemic problems which made it possible.

The Constitutional Review Committee is currently undertaking its annual exercise of reviewing the Constitution in accordance with section 45(1)(c) of the Constitution. Written public submissions are being sought and more information can be found here.

Following a 25 April NA Rules Committee resolution to create a new parliamentary committee to oversee the planning, monitoring and evaluation portfolio that is headed by Minister Maropene Ramokgopa, the portfolio committee was established and its chairperson was elected on 26 May.  

Follow parliamentary committees here.

On ministerial attendance, Ministers and their deputies made 179 appearances before committees this term. This is traditionally the busiest term for political heads as they appear before committees to present their annual performance and strategic plans. Ministers Aaron Motsoaledi, Bheki Cele (6), Mondli Gungubele and Sindi Chikunga (5) had the highest attendance this term. 

Legislation

On the legislative front, seven bills were introduced during this period. Three of these are Private Member Bills introduced by DA MPs.

                                                               [Current Bills]

Eight Bills were passed by Parliament and referred to the President for assent, including the Eskom Debt Relief Bill and the budget-related Bills. 

On 2 May, the NA unanimously passed a constitutional amendment to recognise Sign Language as the 12th official language. The Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill was introduced in January 2023 and was also sent to the President for assent.

After lengthy deliberations and processes spanning nearly four years, the NA passed the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill on 13 June. The Bill is now being processed by the NCOP and the House’s processes will include: Briefing of permanent delegates in the NCOP; Briefings of delegates to legislatures in all provinces; Advertisements for input from the public to comment on the Bill; Public hearings to be conducted by the NCOP; Provincial legislatures to follow their own public participation processes in preparation for submission of negotiating mandates to NCOP; and the Select Committee’s position to be consolidated and final mandates received from provinces (no dates have been set at this time). Notably, as this is a Section 76 bill, it will be subjected to extensive scrutiny by the provincial legislatures because the content of the bill affects the interest, concerns, and capacities of the provinces. [NHI: Tracking the Bill through Parliament]

Throughout the term, four committees criss-crossed the country holding provincial public hearings on the following bills: Independent Municipal Demarcation Authority (IMDA) Bill; Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill; and the Climate Change Bill.

Plenary sessions

Both Houses arranged several newsworthy debates and sittings:

-          Draft resolution (Mr K Mileham; DA): Establishment of an ad hoc committee in terms of Rule 253(1)(a) to exercise oversight over the new Minister of Electricity and the implementation of the Office of Minister Ramokgopa’s programme of action (NA- 04 May) 

-          Debate on Africa Day: Deepening the African Union’s vision of African unity, peace, prosperity and development (NA- 25 May)

-          Debate on Urgent Matter of National Public Importance (Mr B Herron; GOOD): Failure of the Government to extradite persons implicated in corruption, as demonstrated by the recent case in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the consequences thereof (NA- 13 June)

-          Debate on Youth Day: Decisive action to accelerate socioeconomic opportunities to transform the lives of the youth (13 June)

On 10 May Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa faced his first Parliament grilling since his appointment in March when he appeared before the NCOP for an Oral Question session. Responding to questions on what was being done to limit the severity of load shedding this winter, he said that burning billions in diesel was necessary if the economy was to be saved from collapse.

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. Ministers in the Economics and Governance clusters made appearances in these sessions this term. Some of the topics that came under discussion include challenges in the mining sector as well as policy interventions relating to small business development.

The Executive is accountable collectively and individually to Parliament. As per the rules, the President, Deputy President and Ministers appeared in the main chambers to answer oral questions from MPs and to also present Budget Votes for their respective portfolios. 

Public Protector Matter

The Committee on Section 194 Inquiry was characteristically action-packed and hogged the limelight within and outside the precinct of Parliament throughout the term. In its last meeting of the term, on 09 June, it was resolved to amend the Committee directives to allow it to present written questions to the Public Protector, which she may choose to answer orally or in writing. The decision was taken after the Committee was forced to postpone its hearings for the third time, due to the Public Protector rejecting the newly appointed Office of the State Attorney as her instructing attorney on the basis of conflict of interest. The Committee, the first of its kind, was established on 16 March 2021 to conduct a constitutional inquiry into the Public Protector’s fitness to hold office. The Committee is expected to finalise its work on 28 July 2023.

Zondo Commission

22 June marked a year since Chief Justice Zondo delivered the final Report of the State Capture Commission. On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the handover of the final volumes of his report to President Ramaphosa, we published a  PMG Review of Parliament’s Processing of the State Capture Commission Report.

This review is a follow-up of our 2022 report to give an account of what Parliament has done since Chief Justice Zondo released his findings and recommendations. We also present our views on how the institution can strengthen its oversight processes, specifically those related to the committee system.

The review highlights that the processes relating to the implementation of the Zondo Commission’s recommendations by Parliament have only gotten underway so it is not possible to make a definitive assessment of the impact thus far. While much work has gone into identifying structures, reporting mechanisms and other procedural considerations, overall, our sense is the implementation of the Zondo recommendations has been a tick-box exercise and a missed opportunity in some respects. We point out that there is a nuance to many of the issues that Parliament did not fully explore.

The Portfolio Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests dealt with the breaching of the ethics code by current MPs due to the revelations at the Zondo Inquiry. On 25 May, Secretary to the NA, Mr Masibulele Xaso, announced that three MPs were cleared when he provided an update to the NA Programming Committee. It was announced that House Chairperson Cedrick Frolick, the late Tina Joemat-Pettersson, and Minister Thulas Nxesi’s matters had been completed by the Committee and there were no adverse findings on all three of those matters. We await the reports to explain why they were cleared.

Statutory Appointments and Turnover

Following due process, Parliament filled the commissioner vacancy at the Public Service Commission this term. Also, the process of finding a new Public Protector has commenced. As the term of the current Public Protector expires on 14 October, the NA established an Ad Hoc Committee to nominate a person for appointment as Public Protector at the end of May. The Committee has 11 voting Members and 14 non-voting Members. It is expected to conclude its processes by 31 August. 

Internally, Parliament appointed chartered accountant Jason O’Hara to the position of CFO after five years without a permanent CFO. Parliament’s last permanent CFO left in 2018.

On 7 June, the EFF welcomed Messrs Mzwanele Manyi, Mandla Shikwambana, Eugene Mthethwa, and Nqobile Mhlongo as new MPs. The four were officially sworn in on the day by Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula.

Regrettably, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, passed away in early June. 

Update on the restoration of Parliament 

On 12 May, the Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management of Parliament received an update on the progress of restoring buildings affected by the January 2022 fire in the precinct. The Committee was told that Parliament had appointed the Development Bank of Southern Africa as the implementing agency for the restoration project due to its own lack of capacity to do work of this scale. However, the Secretariat to Parliament remains the accounting officer of this entire restoration programme. The various phases of the programme were provided to the Committee, and Members were assured that every one of them would have decent office space to operate from upon their return from the constituency period in late August.

Petitions

Citizens can get redress and assistance by petitioning Parliament. Three petitions were received by Parliament this term and referred to the relevant committees for consideration. The petitions were as follows:

-          A petition from unemployed Social Workers calling on Parliament to investigate the inability of government to create permanent employment for unemployed Social Workers in South Africa. (Ms B Masango, DA)- Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Social Development on 26 April.

-          A petition from the residents and small business owners of Wakkerstroom in the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality, calling on Parliament to investigate the condition of the roads in and around Wakkerstroom. (Mr H Kruger, DA)- Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on 26 May.

-          A petition from the residents of the Northern and North-Eastern suburbs of Rustenburg, calling on Parliament to investigate the water-supply crisis in Rustenburg. (Mrs C Phillips, DA)- Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on 7 June.

Litigation involving Parliament

The Concourt found Parliament wanting when it comes to public participation in two cases. On 30 May and 26 June, the apex court declared that Parliament had failed to comply with its constitutional obligation to facilitate meaningful public involvement before passing the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019 and the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Act 2 of 2022. You can find more here. 

2022 Register of Members’ Interests

The 2022 Register of Members' Interests was released in mid-April. The Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosure of Members’ Interests prescribes that Members of Parliament must disclose their registrable interests annually. You can find more here.

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