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National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula commended the chairpersons of parliamentary committees for being the backbone of Parliament’s work and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges in the history of Parliament, occasioned by both the fire outbreak and Covid-19 pandemic.
 
Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula officially opened a two-day evaluative and planning workshop of the chairpersons of the National Assembly (NA) and National Council of Provinces (NCOP) that started yesterday in Johannesburg and ending today.
 
She urged parliamentary committees to sharpen their planning and communicate better with members of the Executive as part of raising the bar in executing the parliamentary mandate of oversight.
 
The joint NA and NCOP parliamentary committee chairperson’s workshop is convened by the House Chairpersons for Committees for the NA and NCOP, Mr Cedric Frolick and Jomo Nyambi, to evaluate progress made towards achieving the targets of the 6th Parliament.
 
The Speaker acknowledged that the work done by committees, whether in oversight, legislative or public interface, was carried out with few disruptions because chairpersons provided leadership and found workable solutions during trying times.
 
She noted that the NA has about 40 bills scheduled for processing and finalisation before the end of the 6th Parliament. She appealed to the chairpersons to be realistic in evaluating progress made and confirming targets that could be achieved during the remaining months of the 6th Parliament.
 
She affirmed the important role played by Parliament in providing a qualitative assessment of the outcomes of the government's Medium Term Strategic Framework. She called for a qualitative monitoring and evaluation tool, including the creation of synergy with the government’s own monitoring mechanisms and feedback from the public.
 
Also addressing the workshop, the Chairperson of the NCOP Mr Amos Masondo, reminded chairpersons of committees about the mandate of the committees that include processing draft legislation; overseeing Executive action, including implementation of the budget; promoting public involvement; facilitating cooperative governance; and processing international matters. 
 
The NCOP Chairperson called on chairpersons to play a leading role in promoting synergy in the work of the committees of both Houses by ensuring cooperation, coordination and collaboration.  He said that through synergy and collaboration, unnecessary duplications of efforts would be eliminated.
 
He implored the chairpersons to carefully plan for the next election year, as it required an improvement in the coordination of legislation with the Executive. He asked them to prioritise legislation that must be concluded by the 6th Parliament and constantly monitor the pace at which Parliament processes the draft legislations. This will ensure that each House gets the appropriate time needed to process the draft legislations. 
 
Mr Masondo requested the chairpersons to keep a sharp focus on the government's progress in dealing with the issues highlighted by the President in the State of the Nation Address in February.
 
The Secretary to Parliament Mr Xolile George also gave an update on the reviewed strategic plan of Parliament, and on plans for the reconstruction of Parliament within the planned time.

Issued by Parliament