Private Members' Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions

National Assembly Committee

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Oversight Responsibility of Private Members' Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions Committee

The Committee on Private Members' Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions considers draft bills submitted by individual Members of Parliament. The Committee also considers petitions tabled in Parliament.

THE ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF COMMITTEES IN PARLIAMENT (provided by Parliament)
The two houses of Parliament, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, conduct their work in plenary sessions (where Members of a house meet together in one group), in joint sittings (where Members of both houses meet as one group), and in Committees (smaller groups of Members).

Working in Committees allows Parliament to:

Increase the amount of work that can be done Ensure that issues can be debated in more detail than in plenary sessions Increase the level of participation of Members of Parliament (MPs) in discussions Enable MPs to develop expertise and in-depth knowledge of the specific Committee's area of work Provide a platform for the public to present views directly to MPs, something which is not possible in a plenary sitting of Parliament Provide an environment for Parliament to hear evidence and collect information related to the work of a specific Committee.

Committees are, in general, proportionally representative of the parties in Parliament. Committee meetings are open to the public, but may be closed if there is a good reason to do so.

The different committees have one or more of the following functions:

They monitor and oversee the work and budgets of national government departments and hold them accountable They consider and amend Bills, and may initiate Bills They consider private members' and provincial legislative proposals and special petitions They consider international treaties and agreements They examine specifi c areas of public life or matters of public interest They take care of domestic parliamentary issues Committees have the power to summon any person to appear before them, give evidence or produce documents. They may require any person or institution to report to them. Committees may also receive petitions, representations or submissions from the public. Each Committee is headed by a Chairperson.


THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES OF PARLIAMENT

Portfolio Committees
The National Assembly (NA) appoints from among its members a number of Portfolio Committees to shadow the work of the various national government departments.


The role of Portfolio Committees is to:

consider Bills, deal with departmental budget votes, oversee the work of the department they are responsible for, and enquire and make recommendations about any aspect of the department, including its structure, functioning and policy.


The work of Committees is not restricted to government. They may investigate any matter of public interest that falls within their area of responsibility. There is a Portfolio Committee for each national Ministry and its associated government department/s.

Select Committees
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) appoints from its permanent members a number of Select Committees to shadow the work of the various national government departments and to deal with Bills.

Because only 54 of the 90 NCOP Members are permanent delegates compared to the 400 of the NA, the Select Committees oversee the work of more than one national government department.

Public Accounts Committees
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Public Accounts acts as Parliament's watchdog over the way taxpayers' money is spent by the Executive. Every year the Auditor-General tables reports on the accounts and financial management of the various government departments and State institutions.

Heads of government departments and institutions are regularly called by this committee to report and account for expenditure. The Committee can recommend that the National Assembly takes corrective actions if necessary.

Members' Legislative Proposals and Petitions Committees

Draft bills can be submitted by individual Members of the National Assembly. These bills are considered by the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Private Member's Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions. If the Committee agrees with the principle of the draft Bill, a Bill will be prepared and dealt with by Parliament.

The National Council of Provinces Select Committee on Members' and Provincial Legislative Proposals considers draft Bills from individual NCOP members and provincial legislatures.

Petitions may also be tabled in Parliament and referred to the relevant committee that deals with the issue raised in the petition.


Internal Committees
The National Assembly has a number of internal committees that deal with matters affecting the running of Parliament. The Committees normally consist of senior Members of Parliament. The Rules Committee and its sub-committees deal with House rules, the budget of the House, support for Members, internal arrangements, and powers and privileges of members. Other internal Committees are the Programme Committee that plans the work of the Assembly, the Disciplinary Committee, and the Committee of Chairpersons.

The National Council of Provinces has its own domestic Committees. The Rules Committee and its subcommittees deal with the NCOP rules, the NCOP budget, parliamentary privileges, internal arrangements, international relations and delegated legislation. The Programme Committee plans the work of the NCOP and the Committee of Chairpersons make recommendations about the functioning of Committees and other NCOP forums.

Ad hoc Committees
Parliament or one of its Houses may appoint an ad hoc (temporary) Committee when a special task must be done. When the task is complete, the Committee is dissolved.

Joint Committees
The National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces together appoint a number of joint committees, for example the Constitutional Review Committee.

The Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence are statutory Committees. This means that they are established, by the Constitution or by an Act of Parliament, as well as in terms of the rules of Parliament.

The committees play a very important role in the process of building democracy and involving the public in the processes and activities of Parliament.

No results.

19 Sep 2012 Ollis Proposal to amend the Labour Relations Act, Report and Minute adoption
29 Aug 2012 Report on Strategic Planning Workshop: discussion
22 Aug 2012 Postponement of discussion on Strategic Planning Workshop Report
08 Aug 2012 Second Term Session Report: review and adoption
13 Jun 2012 Third Term Committee Programme: discussion
30 May 2012 Ollis Proposal to amend the Labour Relations Act, Adoption of minutes
23 May 2012 Lovemore legislative proposal to amend Electoral Act so South Africans living abroad may vote
16 May 2012 MP Trollip proposal: individual security for people living under communal land tenure; MP Smalle proposal to amend Lotteries Act: recommendation report; Committee Annual Report
09 May 2012 MP Smalle proposal to amend Lotteries Act; Committee 2011 Annual Report
02 May 2012 Ollis proposal to amend the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 1993 (No 30 of 1993); Recommendation Report on Van Rheede van Oudtshoorn special petition
25 Apr 2012 Recommendation report on Trollip proposal to amend the Executive Members' Ethics Act: adoption; Van Rheede Special Petition: discussion; Committee Programme & Committee Reports
07 Mar 2012 Trollip proposal to amend the Executive Members' Ethics Act: finalisation, Smalle proposal to amend Lotteries Act: deliberations
29 Feb 2012 Trollip proposal to amend the Executive Members' Ethics Act (No. 92 of 1998)
22 Feb 2012 Davidson Proposal to prohibit contracting between an organ of state in the national sphere of government and companies whose directors are party political office bearers or public representatives of political parties: finalisation
08 Feb 2012 First Term Programme 2012; Fourth Term Sessional Report
16 May 2012 ATC120515: Report on Legislative Proposal by the Honourable F J Smalle (Democratic Alliance) to amend the Lotteries Act, No 57 Of 1997, dated 16 May 2012
02 May 2012 ATC120502: Report on Special petition of Mrs ASE van Rheede van Oudtshoorn (submitted by Mr Bosman, MP), praying for pension, dated 02 May 2012
25 Apr 2012 ATC120425: Report on legislative proposal to amend Executive Members’ Ethics Act, 1998 (Act No. 82 of 1998), to provide for matters related to the President, dated 25 April 2012
22 Feb 2012 ATC120222: Report on Legislative proposal to prohibit contracting between an organ of state in the national sphere of government and companies
19 Jan 2012 ATC120119: Report on Oversight visit to the Kwazulu Natal, Gauteng & Limpopo legislatures from 17 – 19 January 2012, dated 25 April 2012
22 Jun 2011 ATC110622: Report on Mr Amichand Munasur Special Petition
23 Mar 2011 ATC110324: Report on Mr TD Lee Legislative proposal to repeal the South African Boxing Act, No 11 of 2001
16 Mar 2011 ATC110316: Report on Mr L Greyling Legislative proposal to regulate private funding of political parties
16 Mar 2011 ATC110316: Report on Mr IO Davidson Legislative proposal to correct anomalies in  Executive Members’ Ethics Act, No 82 of 1998
02 Mar 2011 ATC110309: Report on Mr C Pretorius Legislative proposal to amend the Land and Agriculture Development Bank Act, No 15 of 2002, dated 2 March 2011
21 Jan 2011 ATC110121: Report on Memorandum  in terms of  Rule 238(1)
01 Nov 2010 ATC101101: Report on Memorandum in terms of Rule 238(1)
22 Oct 2010 ATC101022: Report on Study Tour to the United Kingdom  (House of Commons) & associated institutions on 16 – 22 October 2010
20 Oct 2010 ATC101020: Report on Ms C Dudley Legislative Proposal to amend the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, No 91 of 1996
26 Mar 2010 ATC100326: Report on Ms V Mentor Legislative Proposal to amend Commission on Gender Equality Act, No 39 of 1996
26 Mar 2010 ATC100326: Report on Ms V Mentor Legislative Proposal to amend Human Rights Commission Act, No 54 of 1994
29 Nov 2008 ATC081129: Report on Fact Finding Mission to New Eersterus, Hammanskraal
24 Nov 2008 ATC081124: Report on Dr R Rabinowitz Legislative Proposal
20 Nov 2008 ATC081120: Report on Mrs P De Lille Legislative Proposal
20 Nov 2008 ATC081120: Report on Dr R Rabinowitz Legislative Proposal
22 Oct 2008 ATC081022: Report on Mr J Selfe Legislative Proposal
22 Oct 2008 ATC081022: Report on Mr M Lowe Legislative Proposal
14 Jul 2008 ATC080714: Report on Mr P A Gerber‘s legislative Proposal
30 May 2008 ATC080530: Report on Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act
30 May 2008 ATC080530: Report on Remunerations of Public Office Bearers Act
25 Mar 2008 ATC080325: Report on Mr J van der Merwe‘s legislative proposal
18 Mar 2008 ATC080318: Report on Prince Buthelezi’s legislative proposal
31 Aug 2007 ATC070831: Report on Fund for victims of violent crime by Ms D Kohler-Barnard
Report: Mr P Gerber’s legislative proposal
Report: Mr W Spies Legislative Proposal

There are no questions at this time.

There are no bills related to this committee.

Attendance

No current attendance data

Contact

Secretary of Committee

Nkanyiso Mkhize

Tel: 021 403 8086

Cell: 071 545 5392

Secretary to Chairperson

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