12 July 2020

The Week Ahead: Supplementary Budget Debates begin

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It's déjà vu in Parliament with MPs spending most of the time focusing on the emergency budget.

Committees will be dealing with remaining Annual Performance Plans and finalising Budget Reports. As part of their budget scrutiny, MPs are probing departments about the impact of budget cuts; how funds are being shifted to meet core programmatic work; their response to COVID-19 and whether they are working in a prudent manner with finances and prioritising spending in the right areas.

The budget presented by the Finance Minister is not the final budget but a proposal that has to be scrutinised and approved by Parliament. Even though Parliament has this power to amend, it has never fully exercised this right. This paper explores why: Why has Parliament not yet made a substantive amendment to the national Budget?

A fundamental responsibility of NCOP delegates is to give voice to provincial and local interests in national policy debates. They will have an opportunity to do so this week as the upper chamber has scheduled four debates on the Adjustments Budgets of the Department of Health, the Department of Social Development (both Tuesday) as well as the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (both Thursday).

The main legislative action is the consideration of the 2020 Division of Revenue Amendment Bill in the NA Chamber (Wednesday) as well as the briefing on the two disaster tax bills in the Finance Committee.

Beyond this, there are two Women’s Charter Review Sessions arranged by the NCOP on Wednesday and Friday.

Below is a summary of the highlight in committee-land

 Tuesday, 14 July 2020

 Joint Meeting: Standing Committee on Finance and Select Committee on Finance, (National Assembly and National Council of Provinces), [Briefing by National Treasury and SARS on the Disaster Management Tax relief Bill and Disaster Management Tax Administration Bills. Consideration and Adoption of the Committee report on the Strategic and Annual Performance Plan of National Treasury], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00 – 12:00

 Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, (National Assembly), [Briefing by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) on their readiness for the Local Government Elections in 2021. Consideration and adoption of the Adjusted Budget Vote 5 Report. Adoption of the outstanding minutes and reports.], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00 – 12:00

Joint Meeting: Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Water and Sanitation and Human Settlements, (National Assembly and National Council of Provinces), [Briefing by the Department of Cooperative Governance on its adjusted budgets; and Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Bill], Virtual Meeting Platform, 18:00 – 21:00

Wednesday, 15 July 2020

Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform, (National Assembly), [Consideration of the Committee report on the revised Strat Plan and APP of DALRRD through the Adjusted Appropriation Bill [B10 - 2020]. Update by the DALRRD on the implementation of Constitutional Court Judgements on labour tenants and update on development and finalisation of the Farmer Register in all provinces], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00 – 12:00

Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, (National Assembly), [Consideration of the first draft of the revised Budget Vote Report. Consideration of the National Lotteries Commission legal opinion. Consideration of minutes], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00 – 12:00

Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, (National Assembly), [Briefing by the Department of Correctional Services and the Office of the Chief Justice on Adjustment Budgets], Virtual Meeting Platform, 16:30

Thursday, 16 July 2020

Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, (National Assembly), [Briefing by Eastern Cape Provincial Government on their COVID-19 response plans], Virtual Meeting Platform, 18:00 – 21:00

 Friday, 17 July 2020

Standing Committee on Appropriations, (National Assembly), [Briefing by the Departments of Health and Social Development on the 2020 Adjustments Appropriation Bill], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00 – 12:00

Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, (National Assembly), [Meeting with the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality on: Follow-up on issues raised in meeting of 3 July 2020; Report on the outcome of investigation into the conduct of law enforcement officials during evicting; Human settlements plan], Virtual Meeting Platform, 18:00 – 21:00

Committees provide a platform for the public to present views directly to MPs. Share your on the ground experience and expert information to the relevant committeesCritically, what questions should MPs pose to the Executive as they conduct their oversight work?  

We have consolidated our reports on the COVID-19 related meetings here

View the schedule page here.

*This summary is based on the schedule as it is published on Monday morning. The programme is subject to frequent updating so the link above needs to be checked daily to confirm the programme for the day.

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People's Assembly

"That week in Parliament" is a series of blog posts in which the important Parliamentary events of the week are discussed.

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