Parliament resumes its regular sessions this week, following a six-week hiatus. On Tuesday, the National Assembly Rules Committee will chart the way forward on the composition of the Section 194 committee that will probe whether Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is fit to hold office.
Speaker Thandi Modise referred the matter to the committee following a complaint by UDM leader, Bantu Holomisa.
Parliament proceedings regarding the Public Protector inquiry:
On Tuesday and Wednesday the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will hold a Budget and Fiscal Oversight Workshop under the theme: “Accountability in Public Expenditure Through Effective Parliamentary Oversight”, which will be addressed by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni. A total of 50 committee meetings are also scheduled to take place.
On Thursday afternoon President Cyril Ramaphosa will be at the National Assembly to answer oral questions.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen will ask the President for details of the brands and quantities of vaccines government has purchased to ensure that at least 41 million people are vaccinated against COVID-19.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) President Julius Malema will ask about the price of the drugs bought and which ones have been approved by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority. There is widespread skepticism that government will be able to meet this target given the rate of vaccinations so far.
The President will also get an opportunity to speak about the insurgency in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Province. African National Congress (ANC) member of Parliament (MP), Bheki Radebe wants him to spell out what South Africa, SADC, and the African Union (AU) are doing to deal with the source of the insurgency.
Defence expert, Helmoet Heitman says SADC’s efforts to deal with the situation are too weak and unlikely to succeed.
