The third term was brief and disjointed, with both Houses starting and ending at different times. Despite this, there were a lot of noteworthy events that happened during this period. 
 

Plenary sessions

Apart from the removal of the Public Protector (discussed later), Plenary sessions were fairly routine and unremarkable this term. One major plenary event was the annual debate to mark Heritage Day under the theme: “Celebrating our cultural diversity in a democratic South Africa.” 

Legislators considered various reports and the National Assembly (NA) scheduled several mini-plenaries, which serve as breakaway sessions of the House. Some of these sessions were as follows: 

• Subject for discussion (Mr N Kwankwa): The benefits of a policy approach that is focused on the informal economy to address inequality, poverty and unemployment in South Africa.

• Subject for discussion (Mr V Zungula): The impact of an unregulated informal sector that gives rise to the circulation of counterfeit products, illicit cash flows, and other security vulnerabilities in the country.

• Subject for discussion (Ms A Ramolobeng): Assessing progress in strengthening the criminal justice system in the fight against crime and corruption.

President Ramaphosa answered questions in the NA on 05 September, where he engaged MPs on a range of national and international matters of importance. The President was quizzed on, among other issues, the lifestyle audits of members of the executive and public representatives, the BRICS summit, and government’s position on the devolution of passenger rail to competent metros after the taxi strike in Cape Town.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile, as leader of government business, also appeared before Parliament to answer oral questions: once before the NA and once before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). On both occasions, lawmakers probed him about the outcomes of the National Dialogue on Coalitions.

Following his appointment six months ago, the NA approved the Minister of Electricity’s reporting line after the NA Rules Committee had previously said it was not necessary for Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to report to a committee. Minister Ramokgopa now has to report to the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, given that Eskom accounts there too. 

 

Committees and Ministerial Attendance

The committee corridor saw a fair bit of activity throughout this term. 178 meetings were held, with the NA corridor hosting the majority of them.

The newly established Portfolio Committee on Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation held its first meeting on 08 September where the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) reported details of its frontline monitoring and support and progress on implementing the Presidential Hotline. The Committee elected Mr Dyantyi as its chairperson four months earlier. At the time, regarding a question about which Ministers in the Presidency will account to the committee, Mr Dyantyi said he must be allowed time “to set the foundation, set the tone and define the scope and the role of the new committee.”

The NA resolved to establish an ad hoc committee on the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill. The proposed Bill has been criticised as it requires the state security services to vet any person who seeks to establish a non-governmental organisation, church, or religious institution. The Committee will consist of 11 members of the NA as follows: ANC 6, DA 2, EFF 1, and other parties 2. 01 March 2024 is the deadline by which the Committee is to complete its work.

Before the end of the term, the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services adopted guidelines for the steps it will take in its impeachment processes for both Judge Nkola Motata and former WC Judge President, Judge John Hlophe. This will be the first time since 1910 that a judge is set to be impeached. Guidelines here. 

Parliament will not be moving ahead with the establishment of an ad-hoc committee to probe the unrest that occurred in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July 2021. Two years and several committee meetings later, the Portfolio Committee on Police resolved to defer the full inquiry to the Seventh Parliament, citing time constraints that would not allow for comprehensive consideration of issues as the reason for kicking the can down the road. 

Regarding ministerial attendance, Ministers and/or their deputies attended two meetings each on average. They were present in 105 of the 178 meetings held this term (59%), an uptick from last term’s 179 appearances out of 401 meetings (45%).    
 

Legislation 

On the legislative front, there was a flurry of activity. This is expected to continue in the next term as the national legislature moves with urgency to pass critical bills before the Sixth Parliament ends. A total of 51 Bills are under consideration by parliamentary committees and seven were introduced this term. 

Two noteworthy bills are approaching the final stage: The Copyright Amendment Bill and Performers' Protection Amendment Bill were passed by the NCOP with amendments and returned to the NA for concurrence.

During the last NAPC meeting for the term, Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula announced Parliament will no longer be accepting any new Bills for processing. The Speaker said despite deadline warnings, she had still not received an updated list of legislation from the Executive that the Sixth Parliament is expected to process before the House rises next year. "The deadline was the fourth of September and we have been patiently waiting. It is now the 21st of September. So, I don’t expect that there’s further work which will be coming from the side of the executive for consideration by Parliament." Notwithstanding these remarks, there have been subsequent cabinet statements, where the government has either indicated legislation that will either be submitted to Parliament or will be published for comment.

                                                          [Current Bills]
 

The Fundraising Amendment Bill, was passed by Parliament and sent to the President for signing and assent. The Judicial Matters Amendment Bill, tabled by the Minister of Justice in March to expunge criminal records of people who violated the Covid-19 lockdown regulations was passed by the NA and sent to the NCOP for concurrence. 

The Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill passed its first legislative hurdle on 26 September following its adoption by the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education. The Bill was referred to the NA for debate and consideration. Some of the proposals that were adopted in the Bill include making Grade R the new compulsory school-starting age, penalties for parents who do not ensure that their children are in school, and confirmation that corporal punishment is no longer allowed at schools - with penalties for those found guilty of such offences.

The National Health Insurance Bill is currently under consideration by the NCOP's Select Committee on Health and Social Services. It was referred to the nine provincial legislatures as part of its progress through the NCOP. You can find details on the provincial public hearings here. [NHI: Tracking the Bill through Parliament] 

Also, the Climate Change Bill, which aims to formalise the government’s response to climate change in accordance with the Paris Agreement, was adopted by the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment during this term. The Bill underwent extensive countrywide public consultation over the past year after being introduced to Parliament in February 2022. It still needs to go to the NA for debate, then to the NCOP for concurrence before it is sent to the President. [Tracking the Climate Change Bill in Parliament]

Throughout the term, committees crisscrossed the country holding provincial public hearings on the following bills: Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill; Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Bill; and the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill.
 

Public Protector Removal and Appointment

On 11 September, the NA considered the recommendation for the removal of Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane from the office of Public Protector in terms of section 194(1)(c) of the Constitution. With 318 votes, the NA supported the Committee on Section 194 Enquiry’s recommendation that Adv Mkhwebane be removed from office. This was the first time that Parliament considered the removal of a Chapter 9 institution office-bearer.

On 29 August, the Ad Hoc Committee to nominate a person for appointment as Public Protector recommended to the NA, that Adv. Kholeka Gcaleka be appointed by President Ramaphosa as the next Public Protector, with the DA, EFF & FF Plus disagreeing. The NA was scheduled to consider the nomination during the term but this was postponed on multiple occasions. 19 October 2023 has been set as the date the House will consider the appointment of Adv Gcaleka as Public Protector, and the Cape Town City Hall will host this sitting of the NA. 

 

Petitions 

Petitions are an important tool for public involvement. In our research published in August, we delved into petitions submitted and processed by Parliament. You can read it here. 

Three petitions were received by Parliament this term and referred to the relevant committees for consideration:

• A petition from Team Free Sanitary Pads, calling on the NA to investigate the introduction of a Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management Bill and its subsequent enactment as law. (Ms T Bodlani)

• A petition from residents of Germiston, calling on the NA to investigate the lack of staff availability to respond to electricity outages after hours, the high number of illegal electrical connections, incidents of cable theft, and vandalizing of electricity equipment in their area. (Ms M Clarke) 

• A petition from residents of Sonderwater, Extension 12, Ward 9 in the J B Marks Local Municipality, North West province, calling on the Assembly to investigate delays in the proclamation of Sonderwater, as the delays mean that those who have three built houses in the area cannot have title deeds while the area is not formalised. (Mr I Seitlholo)

 

Zondo Commission Update

Parliament began formally and substantially processing the Zondo Commission Report in November last year when the NA Rules Committee convened and adopted a 31-page Implementation Plan to deal with the Commission’s recommendations. Since then there have been ongoing and regular developments which PMG keeps track of: [Tracking the Implementation of the State Capture Commission Recommendations]

On 03 October 2023, the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests concluded its investigations into allegations relating to four MPs, including one Cabinet minister, accused of having benefitted from corrupt dealings highlighted by the State Capture Commission. ANC MPs Cedric Frolick, Mosebenzi Zwane, Winnie Ngwenya and Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi were cleared of wrongdoing as they were found to not have breached the Code of Ethical Conduct.

 

Appointments and Institutional Matters

Following due process, Parliament filled a vacancy in the Electoral Commission. Also, processes of finding suitable candidates to fill vacancies at the South African Human Rights Commission, Independent Communications Authority of South Africa and Media  Development and Diversity Agency are underway. 

Internally, Parliament announced the appointment of General Samson Shitlabane as its new Chief of Security after almost eight years without one. Security issues within Parliament have gained traction following the fire incident which occurred in January last year.

In addition, the NA Rules Committee referred three matters to its Subcommittee for consideration, namely: 

• Establishment of guidelines on how Executive Undertakings and commitments should be monitored.

• Development of guidelines for petitions to ensure that this public participation mechanism is widely used. 

• Rule amendments in respect of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act, as clarity is needed on certain aspects especially as it relates to consultations between committees where a particular committee is of the view that a budget should be amended and the need for that committee to confer with another committee.

In mid-September, the NA Rules Committee received a legal opinion from Parliament’s legal services on the legal framework regulating political party funding for parties represented in Parliament. The Committee resolved to adopt a rule amendment to ensure Parliament’s rules and orders regulating political party funding are in line with section 57 of the Constitution.

 

NCOP Provincial Week and BRICS Summit

It was Provincial Week from 11 to 15 September for NCOP MPs. The theme for the week-long oversight programme was “Building Viable Provincial and Municipal Infrastructure for Effective Delivery of Services to Communities”. According to Parliament: “The NCOP delegates, together with their provincial legislature counterparts, spent the week conducting oversight visits to infrastructure projects including bulk water supply plants, roads upgrades, and water treatment plants”.

At the tail-end of the term, Parliament hosted the 9th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in the City of Ekurhuleni. According to Parliament, the gathering sought “ to foster stronger parliamentary ties and deeper cooperation among the BRICS member states. The overarching theme of the gathering was "Harnessing Multilateralism and Parliamentary Diplomacy to Deepen BRICS and Africa Partnership for accelerated implementation of the Africa Free-Trade Agreement.”

 

Restoration and Budget of Parliament

After the terrible fire last year, MPs may soon return to their parliamentary offices, but this time they will enter brand-new offices that have been renovated with hybrid boardrooms and corporate-style finishes to give them a "corporate look." This development was announced by project managers overseeing the repair work on the destroyed offices and structures when they gave a briefing to the Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management of Parliament on 22 September.

In the same meeting, the committee was briefed on Parliament’s performance in the first quarter between April and June. It was indicated that Parliament is expected to overspend on its annual budget by more than R60 million by the end of March next year. It was revealed during the meeting the legislative body had spent 92% (R589 million) of its budget of R639 million in the first quarter.

Parliament’s 2022/23 Annual Report was published in this quarter. The institution received a clean audit  – the 9th consecutive clean audit for Parliament. See Annual Report

 

2024 Elections 

With the 2024 Elections on the horizon, committees have begun receiving briefings about the state of readiness of the Electoral Commission. They are also getting briefings on misinformation, disinformation, and the impact of this ahead of the elections. 

In addition, there is a noticeable uptick in politicking and electioneering during parliamentary debates and discussions.

In August, the Constitutional Court heard a challenge to the Electoral Amendment Act. The Speaker of the NA and the Chairperson of the NCOP are respondents in the matter. The court is considering:

• Is the electoral system under the Electoral Act 73 of 1998 unfair to independent candidates?
• Does the recalculation method imposed by the Electoral Amendment Act result in an unequal advantage for political parties? 
• Does the Electoral Amendment Act place an impermissible barrier to entry for independent candidates to register for elections through the imposition of an onerous signature requirement?

The court was asked to make a determination on an urgent basis, to avoid materially prejudicing the Electoral Commission's 2024 election preparations. 

 

The term ahead

The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) will take place on 01 November 2023. It will be preceded by the consideration of annual reports and the development of budgetary review and recommendation reports by parliamentary committees. 

Some of the key numbers and activities are unpacked on the infographic below: