There is a full programme of parliamentary sittings and portfolio committee meetings scheduled this week including department budget votes kicking off as well as questions to the President. The country’s energy crisis as well as recent greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force are key areas of focus when it comes to questions the President will be responding to on Wednesday.
Parliamentary programme
TUESDAY, 09 MAY 2023
MINI PLENARIES 10:00 – 12:15
(1) Debate on Vote 18: Health
(2) Debate on Vote 29: Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development 14:00 – 16:15
(3) Debate on Vote 37: Sport, Arts and Culture
(4) Debate on Vote 31: Employment and Labour 16:30 – 18:15
(5) Debate on Vote 14: Statistics South Africa (6) Debate on Vote 27: Office of Chief Justice
WEDNESDAY, 10 MAY 2023
MINI PLENARIES 15:00 – 17:15
(1) Debate on Vote 6: International Relations and Cooperation
(2) Debate on Vote 33: Human Settlements
THURSDAY, 11 MAY 2023
14:00 – ±17:00 PLENARY (HYBRID)
Questions to the President
The following questions are of interest:
7. Mr K E Magaxa (ANC) to ask the President of the Republic:
Considering that the appointment of the Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, is geared towards reducing load shedding and formulating specific interventions to address the existing energy generation gap so that the supply of electricity through multiple energy-carriers can meet the demand that the Republic faces, (a) how will he convince the public that the fact that the Minister of Electricity is located in The Presidency is not an attempt to shift oversight on energy policy away from Parliament and (b) what time frames has he put in place for the Minister of Electricity regarding progress and development made insofar as addressing energy insecurity and reducing load shedding are concerned?
8. The Leader of the Opposition (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:
Whether, with reference to his reply to question 798 on 19 April 2023, and in light of the more recent reports that a certain political organisation (name furnished) received R202 000 from an Eskom sub-contractor who allegedly defrauded Eskom, he, in accordance with the Government’s stated commitment to fight corruption, took any steps to identify the members of the Cabinet and other senior government officials alleged by Mr Andre de Ruyter to be involved in corruption at Eskom; if not, in each case; why not; if so, what are the details of the (a) steps that he has taken in this regard and (b) persons against whom the specified steps have been taken?
11.Mr B N Herron (GOOD) to ask the President of the Republic:
In light of the Government’s expressed commitment to fight corruption and Al Jazeera’s undercover exposé titled Gold Mafia, which drew back the curtain on money laundering in Southern Africa, and in view of the Republic having been greylisted and the nation needing swift action against any criminal enterprises looking to exploit our market, what (a) is the Government’s official position regarding the hard undercover evidence from the exposé that shows South African leaders, prominent business figures and financial institutions being criminally implicated and (b) action is currently being taken to investigate individuals who have South African ties in order to clear up any dirty money currently circulating in all our financial sectors, which ties back to the illegal export of precious materials?
Two committee meetings of interest this week:
On Tuesday, the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy (National Assembly) will be updated by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) and Eskom on the Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant’s long term operations.
The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station licence expires in 2024, however, Eskom plans to extend its lifespan by replacing key areas of the plant such as the steam generators. Unit one is currently on a long-term outage for maintenance and refuelling with its original return service date having been pushed out due to delays in this process. In April, Unit two tripped, resulting in the country experiencing Stage 6 load shedding until it was returned to operation. With each unit equal to one stage of load shedding, the proper functioning of the power station over the short, medium and long-term is of national importance.
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) in the National Assembly, also continues its briefings regarding the allegations of corrupt and fraudulent activities and other maladministration issues at Eskom as reported by the former Group Chief Executive of Eskom (Andre de Ruyter). This week the committee will be briefed by the Hawks, South African Police Service and the Special Investigations Unit on their investigations into the power utility.
1.2. Committee Programme
TUESDAY, 09 MAY 2023
Portfolio Committee on Transport, (National Assembly), [Deliberations on the Railway Safety Bill: Department of Transport responses to the written and oral submissions made during the provincial public hearings on the Bill; Deliberations on the Railway Safety Bill [B 7-2021]; Consideration and adoption of Committee’s revised Strategic Plan and 2023/24 Annual Performance Plan; Consideration and adoption of minutes of proceedings], Committee Room M201, Second Floor, Marks Building, Parliament, 09:00-13:00
Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, (National Assembly), [Briefing by the BBBEE Commission on its 2023/24 Strategic and Annual Performance Plan (APP); Consideration of 1st draft of the Budget Vote Report], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00- 13:00
Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy, (National Assembly), [Update by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) and Eskom on the Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant’s Long Term Operations; Consideration and adoption of outstanding minutes], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00
Standing Committee on Public Accounts, (National Assembly), [Briefing by Hawks, SAPS, SIU on allegations of corrupt and fraudulent activities and other maladministration issues at Eskom as reported by the former Group Chief Executive of Eskom], Committee Room M514, Fifth Floor, Marks Building, Parliament, 09:00-13:30
Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, (National Assembly), [Virtual Oral submissions on Climate Change Bill [B9-2022]], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:30-13:00
Select Committee on Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Small Business Development, Tourism, Employment and Labour, (National Council of Provinces), [Briefing by the Department of DTIC, on its budget, APP, and Strategic Plan; Consideration and adoption of minutes], Virtual Meeting Platform, 10:00-13:00
Select Committee on Appropriations, (National Council of Provinces), [Briefing by National Treasury on the: (i) Appropriation Bill [B3 – 2023]; and (ii) Eskom Debt Relief Bill [B5 – 2023]; Consideration of draft Minutes of previous meeting], Virtual Meeting Platform, 10:00-13:00
WEDNESDAY, 10 MAY 2023
Portfolio Committee on Police, (National Assembly), [Inputs by the Police Unions (SAPU and POPCRU) and stakeholders IPUSA on SAPS Annual Performance Plan and budget for 2023/24; Consideration of the PSIRA Annual Performance Plan and Budget for 2023/24], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00
Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, (National Assembly), [Briefing by the NLC on its 2023/24 Strategic and Annual Performance Plans; Formal consideration of the report on the DTIC’s third quarter financial and non-financial performance], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:00-13:00
Portfolio Committee on Health, (National Assembly), [Deliberations on legal opinions on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill presented by State Law Advisers and Parliamentary legal services; Clause by clause deliberations on the NHI Bill; Consideration and adoption of minutes], Virtual Platform Meeting, 09:30-13:00
Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, (National Assembly), [Briefing by the Department of Public Enterprises on the annual performance plan 2023/24 of the Department of Public Enterprises and shareholder compacts for state-owned companies], Virtual Meeting Platform, 10:00
FRIDAY, 12 MAY 2023
Portfolio Committee on Health, (National Assembly), [Presentation by the Legal Team on the A-List of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill; Deliberations on the A- List of the NHI Bill], Virtual Meeting Platform, 09:30-13:00
Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, (National Assembly), [Briefing by the CIPC on its 2023/24 Strategic and Annual Performance Plan (APP); Formal consideration of the Budget Vote Report], Virtual Meeting Platform, 10:00-12:00
