President Jacob Zuma’s appointments have drawn both howls of protest and cautious optimism amid a decline in GDP.
Deeper divisions may arise within the ANC as President Jacob Zuma fights to keep his grip on power.
ANC national chair Baleka Mbete is the uncontested new speaker of the National Assembly after receiving more than 70% of the votes.
Parliament’s 400 new and returning MPs have been sworn in, with newcomers including Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu.
From swearing in National Assembly members to the order of proceedings on the day, here are facts on the first sitting of the fifth Parliament.
The ANC says former speaker Max Sisulu was not able to play "gatekeeper" for the party and its leadership, appointing Baleka Mbete to the position.
ANC chairperson Baleka Mbete is to take over from Speaker of the National Assembly Max Sisulu, ruling her out as a potential second deputy president.
Parliament did not follow normal procurement processes for the manufacturing of a Madiba bust because it was considered an "emergency procedure".
The National Assembly has adopted the revised Protection of State Information Bill and will send it back to President Jacob Zuma for assent.
President Jacob Zuma says he does not know who the "Number One" is referred to in almost all reports related to the Guptagate saga.
The ruling party is proposing far stiffer penalties than those suggested by the National Assembly. Andisiwe Makinana reports.
New legislation says companies should be fined at least 10% of sales for misrepresenting the measures they have undertaken to promote BEE.
The past two weeks have focused attention on the failure of our political system to resolve political disputes and a consequent rush to litigation.
Some political observers are cynical about the role of Parliament in general, and in particular when it comes to the National Council of Provinces.
A cowed National Assembly means political interests prevail over those of the populace, writes The Congress of the People’s Mosiuoa Lekota.
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/ 2 February 2012
The National Assembly’s higher education and training committee says no university can exclude academically deserving students on financial grounds.
The ANC NEC says that people who join the party are bound by its policies, in reference to the two MPs who didn’t vote for the secrecy Bill last week.
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/ 24 November 2011
The National Council of Provinces have established a committee to deal with the secrecy Bill, while Cosatu has called for amendments to the Bill.
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/ 22 November 2011
The National Assembly voted in the Protection of Information Bill on Tuesday with 229 votes.
Parliament is planning to spend more than R2-billion on a revamp of facilities and the parliamentary precinct, but lacks an independent watchdog.
The ANC Youth league wants its former leaders on the list for the National Assembly, its president Julius Malema said on Thursday.
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/ 11 February 2009
Proposed adjustment to the personal income tax schedules will provide relief of R13,6-billion to individual taxpayers, Manuel announced on Wednesday.
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/ 9 February 2009
Deputy President Baleka Mbete admitted on Monday that "more still needs to be done and we can do better when we work together".
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/ 14 January 2009
ANC Gauteng provincial secretary David Makhura on Wednesday reported on the province’s election campaign progress.
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/ 14 January 2009
Former president Thabo Mbeki plans to turn down his place on the ANC’s Gauteng list of candidates for the National Assembly.
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/ 13 January 2009
The National Assembly’s battered image could be restored if Parliament reopens discussions on the arms deal, an independent panel said on Tuesday.
The liquidator trying to recover money owed by MPs says the Speaker of Parliament is not giving the full story.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of a pay increase for public servants. On Tuesday, Minister of Public Service and Administration Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said public-sector workers would receive a wage increase of 10,5% with effect from July 1.
Xenophobic violence against foreign nationals has been brought under control, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said on Monday. ”I do believe the situation is under control … the violence has subsided,” he said at a briefing at the Union Buildings in Pretoria following an inter-governmental task team meeting with President Thabo Mbeki.
The Democratic Alliance on Sunday accused Parliament’s questions office of ”obstructing” the party’s parliamentary questions probing corruption. The questions office had disqualified two written questions on the grounds that they were too vague in terms of the National Assembly’s guide to procedure.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has accused Helen Zille, the leader of the Democratic Alliance and mayor of Cape Town, of fanning the flame of xenophobia by saying that attacks on foreigners were in part due to the fact that foreigners were selling the drug tik to South African children.
The police have ”concrete evidence” of a suspected third-force involvement in xenophobic attacks in and around Johannesburg, the Gauteng Legislature heard on Tuesday. ”The police now have concrete evidence of those involved in orchestrations and they are dealing with it,” said Gauteng’s minister for sport Barbara Creecy.