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On Tuesday at 10 am, Parliament will host a Joint Sitting of the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to debate the President’s State of the Nation Address. The SONA debate will resume on Wednesday at 14:00. 

On Thursday at 8.30 am, the two Houses of Parliament, the NA and the NCOP, will convene their respective Programming Committee meetings to plan for the business of Parliament. The meetings will, among others, consider the draft programme of the respective Houses, committee reports, and bills before the Houses. 

On the same day at 14:00, President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to reply to the debate on his SONA. All three joint sittings will be held at the Cape Town City Hall.

Parliament continues to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities. Much of Parliament’s law-making and oversight work, which includes public participation and involvement, is carried out through its committees – the engine rooms of the National Legislature.

The Ad Hoc Committee on the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill resumed with the KwaZulu-Natal leg of their public hearings in the Zululand District Municipality on 10 February. Today, the Committee is in Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality in Durban at the Yellow Park Civic Hall from 10 am until 13:00.

The Committee will conclude its provincial visit at the uMgungundlovu District Municipality in Pietermaritzburg on Monday, 12 February.

The purpose of the Bill is to, among others, amend and insert certain definitions in the National Strategic Intelligence Act of 1994, the Intelligence Services Act of 2002, and the Intelligence Services Oversight Act of 1994. It also seeks to provide for the establishment of the South African Intelligence Service, the South African Intelligence Agency, the National Communications Centre, and the South African National Academy of Intelligence.

There are twelve committee meetings on schedule for this week, which are as follows:

TUESDAY, 13 FEBRUARY 2024

Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture, [Consideration and

adoption of the Draft Committee Programme; Consideration and adoption of draft minutes.

Tabling of CV’s of PANSALB Board candidates], Virtual Meeting Platform.

WEDNESDAY, 14 FEBRUARY 2024

Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation, [Briefing by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) on: Annual Report 2021/22; Update on the implementation of the Werkmans Report; Update on funding of students at university and TVET colleges for the 2024 academic year; Update on state of governance and management; Progress in the implementation of the NSFAS student accommodation pilot project], Virtual Meeting Platform.

Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure, [Consideration and adoption of the first term programme; Consideration and adoption of the PCPWI Annual Report; Consideration and adoption of the PC PWI first draft Legacy Report], Virtual Meeting Platform.

Standing Committee on Finance, [Briefing by Dr George, MP, on the Responsible Spending Bill [B9 – 2023] (Private Members’ Bill)], Virtual Meeting Platform.

Standing Committee on Appropriations, [Briefing by the National Treasury on the 3rd quarter expenditure patterns of national departments and identified SOEs for the 2023/24 financial year; Adoption of the Committee`s draft programme for Term 1 of 2024; and Adoption of the Committee’s Annual report for 2023], Virtual Meeting Platform.

Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, [9:30-11:00: Briefing by

the Department of Human Settlements on the White Paper on Human Settlements; 11:00-12:45: Briefing by the Department of Human Settlements on Accreditation Framework for

Municipalities to Administer National Housing Programmes; 12:45-13:00: Consideration and

adoption of minutes by the Committee], Committee Room S35, First Floor, NCOP Building,

Parliament.

Portfolio Committee on Police, [Continuation of Provincial Commissioners presentations (Free State, North West and Northern Cape); Deliberations on SONA: Implications for SAPS, including costing of commitments], Virtual Meeting Platform.

Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, [Update from the SIU and NPA on allegations of maladministration and corruption at the NLC; Formal consideration of the E and F Bills of the Copyright and the Performance Protection Amendment Bills], Committee Room M46, Ground Floor, Marks Building, Parliament.

Portfolio Committee on Social Development, [Briefing by the Content Advisor on summaries of public comments on the Bill of submissions; Consideration and

adoption of committee consolidated report on provincial public hearings on the Older Persons Amendment Bill [B11 – 2022]; Consideration of the First Term Draft Committee Programme (Jan – Mar 2024); Adoption of minutes], Virtual Meeting Platform.

Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour, [Consideration and Adoption of: Draft 1st Term 2024 Committee Programme; Outstanding Draft Minutes (6, 13, 20 September 2023 and 11, 18, 20, 25 October 2023)], Virtual Meeting Platform.

Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, [Briefing by the DMV on the roll out of the pension benefit; Briefing by the DMV on the filling of vacancies; Briefing by the DMV on its 2023/24 3rd Quarter expenditure and performance. Feedback on the PCDMV 2023 BRRR recommendations to the DMV; Consideration and adoption of outstanding Minutes], Virtual Meeting Platform. 

FRIDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2024

Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation, [Briefing by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) on the 2023/24 First, Second and Third Quarter Expenditure and Performance Report; Briefing by the DSI, Human Sciences Resource Council (HSRC) and the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) on the implementation of the Audit Action plans as agreed with the AGSA], Virtual Meeting Platform.

For the latest update of the committee meetings schedule, click on this link: https://www.parliament.gov.za/parliament-programme

Issued by Parliament