About the South African Parliament

Parliament is the most accessible branch of Government, where organisations and
individuals involved in advocacy can influence the law.

The Constitution establishes the powers vested in Parliament. Its main responsibilities are
to pass legislation, to oversee the national executive and to provide a voice for the public
in Government. It consists of two houses: the National Assembly (NA) and the National
Council of Provinces (NCOP) with 400 members and 90 delegates respectively.
The National Council of Provinces is made up of nine provincial delegations, each
consisting of 10 delegates. Each delegation is generally proportionally representative of
the political parties that were elected to the legislature in that province. Each delegation
consists of:

• four special delegates consisting of the Premier of the province or, if the Premier is not
  available, any member of the provincial legislature designated by the Premier (either
  generally or for any specific business) and three other special delegates;
• six permanent delegates appointed by the provincial legislature.

The NCOP ensures that provincial interests are represented at national level and is a way of
maintaining links between provinces and national government. It participates in lawmaking
particularly in areas where provinces and national government have concurrent
authority. For lobbying purposes, this publication only lists the 54 permanent delegates in
the NCOP. A full sitting of the houses of the National Assembly finalises the business that
its committees have investigated, discussed and recommended.

Members of the National Assembly are appointed in proportion to the number of votes
their party wins in a national election.

The people responsible for the management of both houses of Parliament and for chairing
its meetings are called the Presiding Officers. The National Assembly elects a Speaker to
administer its affairs. In the NCOP a Chairperson is elected to direct its business. They are
supported by Deputies, Chairpersons of Committees and the House Chairpersons.

Parliamentary committees are where much of the real work of Parliament takes place.
They serve a number of purposes:

• to ensure that issues are debated more fully than is possible in plenary sessions;
• to allow members of the public to make submissions on specific matters, which is not possible in a full parliamentary session;
• to provide a forum where people have to give evidence or produce documents relevant to the committee’s work.
  

In the National Assembly there are Portfolio Committees for each government
department. In the NCOP there are nine Select Committees, each dealing with a number
of government departments.

There are joint National Assembly and NCOP committees, like the Joint Committee on the
Quality of Life and Improvement of Status of Women. Ad hoc committees are also
appointed to deal with special issues.

Each committee is responsible for monitoring the department it oversees, scrutinising
what it does, investigating and making recommendations on any aspect of the legislative
programme and the budget, rationalisation of the department, restructuring, functioning,
organisation, structure, personnel, policy formulation and any other relevant matter.
A committee may make enquiries and hear evidence, and it must debate, amend and put
forward proposals for legislation. Committee meetings are generally open to the public,
although committees may decide to close meetings to the public if they have good reason
to do so. To make contact with the committee, contact its chairperson or secretary. A full
sitting of the houses finalises the business that its committees have investigated,
discussed and recommended. Political parties each have a Chief Whip to manage their
affairs.

A parliamentary committee can summon anybody, including the President, a Minister or
any department official, to appear before it to supply information. It provides a forum
where ordinary citizens or their organisations can make formal representations to
Government on new laws or policy during the parliamentary process. The committees are
therefore important structures to utilise for advocacy.

Another way to reach MPs is through their constituency offices. Each MP has a
constituency office with an administrator to assist the public. The constituency office is a
base for contact between the MP and the surrounding community. During the year time is
set aside for constituency periods when MPs are available to report back to the public and
to be informed of problems.

The President is the head of the national executive and its powers are established in the
Constitution. The President selects Cabinet members (Deputy President and Ministers)
from the National Assembly. The Constitution makes provision for a maximum of two
Ministers to be appointed outside of the National Assembly. The President appoints a
member of the Cabinet as the leader of government business in the National Assembly.
Deputy Ministers are appointed from the National Assembly by the President to assist the
Ministers. The Cabinet is accountable to Parliament on matters under its control. Ministers
are responsible for government departments, including the implementation of legislation,
the development and implementation of policies

The Leader of Government Business looks after Cabinet’s interests in Parliament. The
Leader, the Presiding Officers of both houses and the Chief Whips together decide on
Parliament’s programme.

The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) has 10 seats in the NCOP to
enable representation of the different categories of municipalities. They have no voting
status; and participate in debates in the house and at committee level to ensure local
interests are represented at a national level.

Chapter Nine Institutions:
To further protect the rights of citizens, Chapter 9 of the Constitution makes provision for a
number of institutions that are independent and subject only to the Constitution and the
law.

Public access to Parliament
In terms of Section 42 of the Constitution there must be public access and involvement in
Parliament. Members of the public have the right to attend the meetings of Parliamentary
Committees and all sittings of the National Assembly and the NCOP. You can stay
informed regarding parliamentary agendas by contacting the Public Relations office at
Parliament, or Contact Trust (contact details in the Directory). Members of the public also
have the right to contact any MP or member of the NCOP to inform them of their views.
This can be done through constituency offices or their offices at Parliament in Cape Town.

Source: Public Education Office of Parliament