ParlyBeat
ParlyBeat articles are published by the Dullah Omar Institute’s Women and Democracy Initiative, in collaboration with the ParlyWatch collective and the Putting People in People's Parliament Project.
ParlyBeat makes links between the policy and oversight processes taking place in committees in the legislatures and the lived realities of ordinary people. Through this it aims to increase public scrutiny of the performance of the legislatures, increase access to information on key social justice issues, and also promote increased engagement by a broader range of the public with the work of legislatures and elected representatives.
The publication includes news analysis and feature articles as well as reflections from Parliament Watch members and relevant information to increase knowledge of and access to the legislatures and elected representatives. The articles can be republished by media outlets subject to certain conditions of a creative commons licence.
The articles can be republished subject to certain licensing conditions.
The views expressed in these articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the DOI or the funders.
Latest from ParlyBeat
#WomenCount – SA still falling short of gender parity for councillors
Turning the lens on gender in the local government elections, an analysis of elected candidates shows that the only space where women led was in voter registration numbers. Post-election, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has revealed that while more women than men registered to vote in every province, female councillors only made up 37% of elected councillors.
Organisations set agenda with demands for 6th Parliament
A group of civil society organisations recently came up with a mixed bag of demands for Parliament, ranging from improving the institutional health and culture of the parliamentary administration to ongoing ethics training of MPs during their term.
Claim back ‘Proudly South African’ – Boesak
South Africans were reminded on Saturday not to think that the state of the ANC is the measure of where we are as a people. Struggle activist and theologian Dr Allan Boesak gave a memorial lecture at the District Six Museum in celebration of late minister of justice Dullah Omar and late Judge Essa Moosa’s contribution to the law in South Africa.
SOE Bill should be expedited: Deputy Minister
Despite public pressures for urgency in addressing problems in state-owned entities (SOEs), there is still a long road ahead for government’s new law meant to regulate these entities if the Department of Public Enterprises’ Annual Performance Plan (APP) is anything to go by. In the APP it is envisaged that the Shareholder Management Bill which will govern all SOEs, will only be adopted into law by the 2020/21 financial year.
Best price or best practice? - How government fails at gender responsive procurement
Government departments surveyed by the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) is failing at gender responsive procurement and generally show a lack of understanding of these critical transformation provisions, a recent report found. The CGE in the 2018/19 financial year surveyed a small sample of departments on their gender transformation efforts in public procurement. The CGE’s report tabled in Parliament in June showed most of the departments surveyed failed to integrate gender as a main component in their procurement practices.
Impressions from Parliament: The new Speaker at a glance
Former Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Thandi Modise was elected Speaker of the National Assembly recently. As speaker Modise now has the unenviable task of presiding over debates in the National Assembly that has become increasingly disruptive. As part of her duties, she would serve as the administrative head and executive authority of Parliament, interprets and enforces the rules of Parliament and delivers rulings. Here is a sneak peak into her track record with a focus on her contribution to mainstreaming a feminist agenda on all the platforms she served.
More backlash for Public Protector - this time for report on Parly secretary
As calls for the recall of the Public Protector intensify, her recent report on the suspended secretary of Parliament seemingly did not win her any new friends from neither the complainant, nor respondent in this case.
Going forward by looking back: New MPs offered a ‘lesson plan’ to navigate oversight pitfalls
The new batch of MPs sworn in recently have their work cut out for them if civil society organisations have their way. To assist them in their oversight role and championing the ideals of a People’s Parliament, a civil society grouping now offers MPs a ‘lesson plan’ on how to navigate the pitfalls that almost swallowed their predecessors in the 5th Parliament. A coalition of civil society organisations called Parliament Watch will provide all incoming committee chairpersons, party chief whips and the Speaker’s Office with a report on key findings based on three years (2016 – 2018) of monitoring MPs in the previous parliamentary term.
