The NCOP has quietly put the South African National Roads Agency’s plans to start the tolling of Gauteng’s highways next month on hold.
By resisting pressure from the department of state security and introducing amendments, the NCOP has struck a blow for democracy.
The parliamentary committee processing the Protection of Information Bill has finalised its work and adopted the final report.
The ANC has indicated that it has gone as far as it could to accommodate input into and in amending the Protection of State Information Bill.
The National Council of Provinces hopes for agreement among parties when it produces its final draft of the Protection of State Information Bill.
Some political observers are cynical about the role of Parliament in general, and in particular when it comes to the National Council of Provinces.
At the third day of public hearings on the secrecy Bill, Cosatu’s Zwelinzima Vavi has warned the Bill would change South Africa into a security state.
The need and usefulness of the provinces has been debated endlessly without reaching a conclusion.
The Right2Know Campaign (R2K) and the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef)’s submissions to the National Council of Provinces.
Service delivery woes took prevalence in Mamelodi at a public hearing on the Protection of State Information Bill, as residents became side-tracked.
A biased report on the secrecy Bill hearings from Parliament’s press office has sparked doubts over the service’s ability to remain impartial.
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/ 2 February 2012
Opposition politicians and activists have accused the ANC of manipulating hearings on the Protection of State Information Bill.
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/ 31 January 2012
Politicians have been roasted during public hearings on the info Bill with some saying poor communication shows a gap between people and politicians.
The chairperson for the committee scrutinising the secrecy Bill says the April 8 deadline to finalise work on the Bill is not cast in stone.
The committee tasked with scrutinising the controversial Secrecy Bill has pledged to ensure that all contributions to the Bill will be heard.
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/ 2 December 2011
Last week’s parliamentary vote for the Protection of State Information Bill shows us the country we could become.
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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/ 22 November 2011
Civic organisations say the passing of the secrecy Bill came as no surprise but they would continue to fight it at the National Council of Provinces.
New procurement regulations will empower the Department of Trade and Industry to designate specific industries of critical or strategic importance.
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/ 2 September 2009
Members of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will visit all nine provinces next week to gather information about service delivery.
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/ 17 February 2009
Parliament on Tuesday ratified Vusi Pikoli’s dismissal as national director of public prosecutions, but he hit back with a legal bid to be reinstated.
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/ 19 November 2008
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Wednesday passed the Bills that will amalgamate the Scorpions into the police.
Property will be expropriated if it is in the public interest, according to the draft Expropriation Bill tabled on Wednesday. ”Expropriation in the public interest … provides government with a tool to achieve … land reform,” according to a memorandum attached to the Bill. This will broaden the scope of expropriation from the current narrow term of ”public purpose”.
Ncumisa Kondlo, a member of the African National Congress (ANC) national executive committee (NEC) and deputy chairperson of the South African Communist Party, died in East London on Monday, the ANC said. Kondlo was elected to the NEC in December 2007 and also served on the party’s national working committee.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has come out in support of a Johannesburg businessman’s attempt to seek an interdict from the Pretoria High Court to stop the disbanding of the Scorpions crime-fighting unit. ”Just call me a concerned citizen,” said businessman Hugh Glenister. ”I believe our constitutional rights are being violated.”
A Johannesburg businessman is seeking an interdict from the Pretoria High Court to stop the disbandment of the Scorpions elite crime-fighting unit. In a statement issued by Hugh Glenister, he argues that the disbanding of the unit would ”not be rationally connected to a legitimate governmental purpose”.
Racial tension within Mpumalanga police stations has reached ”ugly” proportions, says the province’s safety and security minister, Fish Mahlalela. ”The tension between black and white officers at police stations is ugly and dents … the fight against crime,” he told a meeting on Thursday.
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/ 22 February 2008
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille has accused the Public Protector of abusing his office for party political purposes in attacking DA MP Mike Waters. She declared that in the six years since his appointment, Lawrence Mushwana, a former ANC MP, has succeeded only in protecting the ANC from the people.
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/ 13 February 2008
What is the status of a traditional healer’s medical certificate produced by an employee claiming sick leave? It is clear that section 23(2) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act excludes traditional healers until such time as their practices are regulated through a statutory professional council.
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/ 12 February 2008
South Africa’s elite, FBI-style Scorpions anti-crime unit will be dissolved, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said on Tuesday. ”The Scorpions … will be dissolved and the organised crime unit of the police will be phased out and a new, amalgamated unit will be created,” Nqakula told Parliament in Cape Town.
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/ 11 February 2008
The "specialist nature" of the Scorpions might well be retained, wherever the unit is finally located, President Thabo Mbeki said on Sunday. He said the government remained firmly committed to ensuring South Africa’s capacity to fight organised crime was enhanced, not reduced.
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/ 10 February 2008
An intense battle over the future of the Scorpions is raging between the government and the African National Congress, the Sunday Times reported. The party’s parliamentary caucus was setting up a heavyweight committee to drive the dismantling of the unit, while President Thabo Mbeki was mounting a defiant fightback campaign.