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The Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, recapitulated South Africa's commitment to championing peace and stability in the South African Development Community (SADC) region and in the continent by actively contributing to peacekeeping efforts through the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Addressing the 53rd Plenary Assembly of the South African Development Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) in Arusha Tanzania, yesterday, on the second day, Ms Mapisa-Nqakula presented the progress made by South Africa in implementing the resolutions of the last Plenary Assembly (52nd) in Kinshasa, DRC in December 2022. 

In line with the theme of the 52nd Plenary Assembly, "The Role of Parliaments in Strengthening Legislative Frameworks for Peace and Security in the SADC region", Ms Mapisa-Nqakula emphasised the critical role played by the SANDF in peacekeeping missions in the continent. 

She informed the assembly that the President of South Africa is the only one authorised to deploy SANDF for domestic or international operations. She said the President must inform Parliament about the deployment, and if Parliament is not in session, the President must alert the Joint Standing Committee on Defence which comprises Members of the NA and the National Council of Provinces.

Ms Mapisa-Nqakula reported that Parliament noted a letter received from President Cyril Ramaphosa dated 6 April 2023 informing them about the extension of employment of 1 495 members of the SANDF in Mozambique and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The deployment was from 16 April 2023 until 15 April 2024 in fulfilment of South Africa’s commitment to maintaining peace and security in the SADC.

On the matter of the SADC PF’s transformation into a regional Parliament, she said South Africa remained committed to the integration of the region and was pleased to announce that President Ramaphosa signed the SADC Agreement Amending the Treaty in January 2023, aimed at recognizing the SADC Parliament as an institution. The treaty was signed on the margins of the Extra-Ordinary Organ Troika Summit of Heads and State and Government held in Windhoek Namibia. She urged other parliaments to follow suit and looked forward to receiving news that the requisite 12 out of 16 signatures needed for the Amendment Treaty to come into force had been obtained. 

The Regional Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, in their report to the 52nd Plenary Assembly, encouraged the SADC member states to work towards the attainment of 50-50 parity by domesticating the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. Ms Mapisa-Nqakula said significant strides were made by South Africa as the NA approved the Agreement Amending the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development on June 06, 2023, as per section 231(2) of the Constitution. 

The Agreement, among others, requires State Parties to enact and adopt appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures to ensure that women and men enjoy equal rights. Under this amendment, South Africa now has the obligation to develop and strengthen laws, policies, and programmes to achieve gender equality in decision-making positions in the political, public, and private sectors.

In line with the Forum’s resolutions on addressing child marriage and gender-based violence, Members of the South African Parliament continue to raise questions and awareness on these matters. In March 2022, the Department of Home Affairs released the “White Paper on Marriages in South Africa” to recommend strategic interventions to make child marriage illegal. Furthermore, the South African Law Reform Commission additionally proposed the enactment of a draft Prohibition of Forced Marriage and Regulation of Related Matters Bill, which seeks to make forced and child marriage a criminal offence, as well as allow victims of such marriages to apply for a forced marriage protection order. Through legislative efforts, South Africa is taking necessary steps to ensure compliance with its constitutional and international human rights commitments.

The Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee advocated for the SADC member states to put in place deliberate measures such as renewable energy tax rebates to attract the participation of local investors. Ms Mapisa-Nqakula acknowledged South Africa’s struggle with load-shedding and informed the plenary that the country adopted various means to address the challenge. 

One of the strategies in addressing the challenge was the announcement by the government of the new policy measures to increase the share of renewable energy in the country's energy mix and reduce the pressure on the grid. She said the proposed measures, which form part of the 2023 draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, are:

•     An enhanced renewable energy tax incentive: The incentive allows businesses to claim a 125 per cent tax deduction for capital expenditure on any renewable energy project, regardless of the generation capacity. It is valid for two years and applies to projects that started operating between 1 March 2023 and 1 March 2025.

•     A rooftop solar tax incentive: The incentive offers individuals a tax rebate of 25 per cent of the cost of new and unused solar PV panels, up to a maximum of R15 000. It is valid for one year and applies to panels acquired and used for the first time between 1 March 2023 and 1 March 2024.

Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula concluded by acknowledging the government’s efforts in contributing to strengthening the electricity grids and finding solutions through new renewable energy generation. She pledged that Parliament would use all the legislative tools and power to oversee the efforts to fruition. 

Today is the third day of the plenary assembly and the programme includes the consideration of the Standing Committee Reports on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment; Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources; Democratisation, Governance and Human Rights and the Report of the Regional Women's Parliamentary Caucus. 

As the apex parliamentary body in the SADC region, the SADC Parliamentary Forum has a critical role to play in ensuring a coordinated and collaborative approach by parliaments in building the requisite capacity for parliamentarians and relevant parliamentary committees on how they can utilise their law-making and oversight mandate to ensure the effective implementation of resolutions taken at plenary sittings.

The 53d Plenary Assembly continues till Friday, 07 July 2023

Issued by Parliament