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Deputy President Paul Mashatile will, on Tuesday at 14:00, appear before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in a hybrid sitting to answer questions for oral reply from NCOP Members of Parliament, known as Permanent Delegates.

Mr Mashatile is expected to give oral replies to six questions, each with four supplementary or follow-up questions. He is expected to provide comprehensive responses to key matters emanating from issues related to government’s implementation of national legislation and a progress report on several other fundamental advancements of national public importance.

Meanwhile, ministers in the Governance Cluster 3 will also appear before the National Assembly (NA) to give oral replies to questions in a hybrid plenary scheduled for 15:00 on Wednesday. This cluster comprises national departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs; Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities; Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation; Public Service and Administration; Government Communications and Information Services; and the Media Development and Diversity Agency.

These question-and-answer sessions are pivotal in how Parliament observes and oversees executive action. According to Section 92(2) of the Constitution, all members of the Cabinet, including the President, the Deputy President, and ministers are accountable collectively and individually to Parliament for exercising their powers and performing their functions.

Other important items on the parliamentary programme this week include a debate on International Women’s Day, consideration of committee reports on the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill, bills before both the NA and the NCOP, the decision of question on reports debated during the NA mini-plenary sessions, and the programming committee meetings of both Houses of Parliament.

On Tuesday at 14:00, the NA will hold a hybrid plenary session to consider the various committee reports on bills before the House. This includes the report of the Portfolio Committee (PC) on Home Affairs on the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill. The House will also commemorate International Women’s Day with a debate under the theme: “Invest in women – Accelerate progress in the context of building a better Africa and the world.” Also on the agenda is the decision of question on reports debated in the NA virtual mini-plenary sessions last Thursday, 7 March 2024.

Besides the question-and-answer session with the Governance Cluster Ministers, the NA will, on Wednesday at 15:00, also consider the 2024 Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals and the report of the Standing Committee on Finance.

Meanwhile, the NCOP hybrid plenary on Wednesday at 14:00 will deal with motions and consideration of the report of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence following the Committee’s engagement with members of the South African Defence Industry at Rheinmetall Denel Munition and Damen Shipyard.  The House will also consider the Select Committee on Finance’s report on the fiscal framework and revenue proposals.
 
At 8.30 on Thursday, the NA and the NCOP will convene their respective Programme Committee meetings to plan the business of Parliament. The meetings will consider, among others, the draft programmes, committee reports, and bills before the two Houses of Parliament.
 
Also, on Thursday at 14:00, the NA will consider the report of the PC on Mineral Resources and Energy on the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill and several other committee reports.
 
On Friday from 08:30 to 10:00, the NA and the NCOP will hold their respective Parliamentary Group on International Relations (PGIR) internal quarterly meetings to discuss issues of international interest to Parliament and South Africa.
 
There are about thirty-eight committee meetings scheduled for this week. They are as follows:

MONDAY, 11 MARCH 2024:
Ad Hoc Committee on the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill [B40 – 2023]:Formal consideration and deliberations on the Bill by the Committee.

TUESDAY, 12 MARCH 2024:
Standing Committee on Finance: Public hearings on the Pension Funds Amendment Bill.

Ad Hoc Committee on the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill [B40 – 2023]: Presentation of the A-list by the Legal Advisor; Consideration and adoption of outstanding minutes.

Standing Committee on Appropriations: Comments by the South African Local Government Association on the 2024 Division of Revenue Bill.

Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies: Committee capacity building on Ads Policy (Meta Inc and other Media Platforms); Briefing by Department and entities (SAPO, USSAASA and Sentech) on progress on the finalisation of the BDM project; Briefing by Department on the turnaround strategy of SITA; Adoption of minutes; Adoption of the 2023/24 First and Second Quarter Expenditure and Financial Reports of the DCDT and GCIS.

Select Committee on Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Small Business Development, Tourism, Employment and Labour: Deliberations on Companies Amendment Bill; Consideration and adoption of Minutes.

Portfolio Committee on Social Development: Briefing by the Department of Social Development in response to the public inputs on the Older Persons Amendment Bill.

Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs: Briefing by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on the report of voter registration weekend (3 and 4 February 2024); Briefing by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on their readiness for National and Provincial Elections 2024.

Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development: Briefing by the Ingonyama Trust Board: Follow up on the interventions of the new Board of Trustees on challenges and interventions to address governance challenges confronting ITB and the Ingonyama Trust.

Portfolio Committee on Transport: Feedback from the Road Accident Fund on matters raised at SCOPA and a briefing on challenges at the entity that require the Committees’ assistance; Consideration and adoption of the supplementary report on the 2022/23 Annual Reports of the entities of the Department of Transport; Consideration and adoption of minutes of proceedings.

Select Committee on Finance: Consideration of negotiating mandates on the Public Procurement Bill [B18B-2023].

Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Water and Sanitation and Human Settlements: Consideration and Adoption of D-Version on the Housing Consumer Protection Bill.

WEDNESDAY, 13 MARCH 2024
Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation: On site briefing at iThemba LABS South African Isotope Facility (SAIF); Consideration of the Committee’s Legacy Report on Science and Innovation], iThemba LABS (Old Faure Road), Eerste River. 

Standing Committee on Finance: Public hearings on the Responsible Spending Bill [B9 – 2023] (Private Members’ Bill).

Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition: Consideration of the first draft of the Committee’s Legacy Report.

Portfolio Committee on Police: Bi-annual Report on DVA: SAPS and CSPS.

Portfolio Committee on Social Development: Consideration and adoption of the motion of desirability of the Older Persons Amendment Bill [B11 – 2022]; Committee deliberations and consideration of proposed inputs on the Older Persons Amendment Bill [B11 – 2022].

Standing Committee on Appropriations: Public Hearings on the 2024 Division of Revenue Bill and the 2023/24 Second Adjustments Appropriation Bill].

Select Committee on Transport, Public Service and Administration, Public Works and Infrastructure: Final Mandates: Expropriation Bill [B 23B2020] (sec 76); Briefing by the Department of Transport on its 2022/23 Annual Report.

Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans: Briefing by Content Advisor on a high-level overview of the DMV budget for 2024/25 and strategic performance indicators; Briefing by the DMV on its Audit Action Plan; Briefing by DMV Audit Committee on the monitoring of Audit Action Plans, challenges and related matters; Consideration and adoption of outstanding minutes.

THURSDAY, 14 MARCH 2024:
Ad Hoc Committee on the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill [B40 – 2023]: Presentation of the Bill by the Legal Advisor.

Standing Committee on Appropriations: Public Hearings on the 2024 Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account Defrayal Bill.

Joint Standing Committee on Defence: Briefing by the NCACC on its 2023 Annual Report; Consideration of minutes.

FRIDAY, 15 MARCH 2024:
Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management of Parliament: Briefing to receive status reports on: progress made in discussions between Parliament’s Executive Authority and the Minister of Finance to address concerns around Parliament’s budget allocation; the development of a budget process for Parliament; and the Parmed liability.

Ad Hoc Committee on the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill [B40 – 2023]: Consideration and adoption of the Committee Report.

Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture: Consideration and adoption of the A-list of the amendments of the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport Amendment Bill [ B41-2023]; Interviews of shortlisted candidates for appointment to the Board of the South African Pan Languages Board (PanSALB).

Issued by Parliament