President Cyril Ramaphosa in Parliament, which on Thursday concluded its work ahead of the National and Provincial elections on May 29. Picture Leon Lestrade. African News Agency/ANA.
On Thursday, Parliament concluded its work ahead of the National and Provincial elections on May 29.
Both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces considered various bills and committee reports – and heard farewell speeches from MPs – before taking a break ahead of the polls.
Draft legislation considered included the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, the Railway Safety Bill, National Water Resources Infrastructure Bill, Transport Appeal Tribunal Amendment Bill, Marine Pollution Amendment Bill, General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill and the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill.
Others included the Municipal Demarcation Authority Bill, Statistics Amendment Bill, Pension Funds Amendment Bill and Public Procurement Bill.
The majority of parties in the National Assembly voted in favour of the controversial Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill on Thursday, which now awaits the approval of President Cyril Ramaphosa before being signed into law.
There were few amendments made by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) before it was adopted and voted for.
However, before the vote, the Democratic Alliance (DA), through its MP Baxolile Nodada, accused the ANC of bulldozing the bill.
“Yesterday [Wednesday], the ANC sacrificed the futures of countless generations for cheap electioneering by bulldozing the BELA Bill through Parliament,” Nodada.
The closure of the National Assembly on Thursday came a day after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the NHI Bill into law, after it was signed off by the NCOP in December last year.
“The real challenge in implementing the NHI lies not in the lack of funds, but in the misallocation of resources that currently favours the private health sector at the expense of public health needs. The NHI Bill presents an innovative approach to funding universal healthcare based on social solidarity,” Ramaphosa said on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, various parliamentary committees sat to consider, among others, reports on the Pension Funds Amendment Bill and the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill.
On Tuesday, the Ad Hoc Committee on the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill unanimously adopted its report on the Bill after the committee first received legal advice from Parliament’s Legal Services on whether it may enquire into provisions of the legislation, which were not part of the Bill when it was referred to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) by the National Assembly.
The break, shortly before the elections comes just a week after the Acting Speaker of the National Assembly, Lechesa Tsenoli, and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Amos Masondo, handed over the keys of the two Houses of Parliament to the Maziya Group of Companies, a construction and development group tasked with rebuilding Parliament following the January 2022 fire that gutted parts of the parliamentary complex.
During the handover last Thursday, Masondo urged the contractors to remain conscious of the cultural heritage of the building, saying they needed to ensure they kept to the prescripts of the legislation that governs their work.
“We also remain aware of the need to assure the public of the efficiency and effectiveness with which the project is undertaken. Today marks the very important step in the rebuilding of Parliament. As the work unfolds, deadlines should be met to avoid escalating costs while ensuring that the quality of the project is not compromised,” he said.
Saturday Star
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