The National Council of Provinces in South Africa will convene an urgent special sitting to debate gender-based violence and femicide as a matter of national importance. This urgent session is scheduled to take place on Tuesday. The debate comes amid growing concerns about the prevalence of gender-based violence in the country. According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the government has been working to address this issue, but more needs to be done.
The National Assembly’s committee work this week will focus on the annual budgetary review and recommendations report process. This process allows committees to examine departments’ financial and non-financial performance, including their annual reports, audit outcomes, and progress against planned targets. The portfolio committee on transport will hear from the auditor-general on the department of transport’s 2025/26 annual report. The South African National Roads Agency and the Road Accident Fund will also appear before the committee.
On Tuesday, the portfolio committee on transport will receive briefings from the auditor-general and other stakeholders. The standing committee on appropriations will receive a briefing from the department of international relations and co-operation on plans to recover debt owed to South Africa by neighbouring countries. This includes money owed by Zimbabwe to national carrier SAA. The select committee on finance will consider the General Laws (Anti-Money-Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Bill.
The select committee on finance will also consider proposed amendments to the National Road Traffic Regulations. These amendments would extend the validity of driving licence cards from five to 10 years. The ad hoc committee investigating allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi is scheduled to deliberate on its draft preliminary report on Wednesday.
The impeachment committee dealing with the section 89 inquiry into the theft of foreign currency from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm will meet on Thursday. The committee was established after the Constitutional Court judgment concerning the processing of a report by an independent panel on the matter. The parliamentary programme will also have an international focus, with the 153rd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) assembly taking place in Arusha, Tanzania.
The 153rd IPU assembly will bring together parliamentarians for discussions on good governance, inclusivity, trust, and opportunities. The assembly will also elect a new IPU president on Friday to replace Tanzania’s Tulia Ackson, whose three-year term ends in October. Three candidates are on the ballot: Azerbaijan’s speaker of the National Assembly, Sahiba Gafarova; Australia’s speaker of the House of Representatives, Milton Dick; and Chilean senator Rojo Edwards Silva.
President Ramaphosa will visit Redlands Dairy Farm in Stutterheim, Eastern Cape, on Thursday. The black-owned and youth-owned commercial farming enterprise has received funding through the Blended Finance Scheme administered by Land Bank in collaboration with the department of agriculture. The presidency says the visit will allow Ramaphosa to assess the impact of the scheme on inclusive agricultural development, job creation, and rural economic growth.
Key points
- The National Council of Provinces will hold an urgent special sitting to debate gender-based violence and femicide.
- The parliamentary programme includes an international focus with the 153rd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) assembly in Arusha, Tanzania.
- President Ramaphosa will visit Redlands Dairy Farm in Stutterheim, Eastern Cape, to assess the impact of the Blended Finance Scheme.
