The outcomes of the ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting, where the upcoming local government elections and the party’s financial turmoil are expected to take centre stage, will dominate headlines this week.
The NEC is the party’s highest decision-making body between conferences.
The governing party, which has struggled to pay staff salaries in recent months due to “cash flow challenges”, is expected to provide an update on its financial problems and a detailed response to the Constitutional Court order that local government elections should be held by November 1.
The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) had approached the apex court seeking an order to declare that holding elections beyond the five-year expiry term of municipal councils is constitutional.
The electoral body partly based its application on recommendations in a report by former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke which found that under Covid-19 conditions the municipal elections would not be free and fair if they were held in October.
On Friday the Constitutional Court ordered that the elections must be held between October 27 and November 1, as mandated by the constitution. It is yet to provide reasons for its ruling.
The ruling is a blow for the ANC after it failed to register candidates in 94 municipalities across the country — including big metros such as Tshwane and Mangaung.
The IEC is expected to meet parties this week to discuss the way forward. It will make an announcement on the electoral programme on Monday.
The electoral programme will also have an effect on parliament’s work as parties hit the campaign trail.
On Monday, a special programming committee meeting is scheduled in parliament. The meeting will plan the business and also agree on the programme of the house in light of the Constitutional Court ruling, parliament said in a statement on Sunday.
On Tuesday, public works minister Patricia de Lille will brief parliament on accelerating the implementation of the national infrastructure plan. The government says investment in infrastructure could help reignite the economy devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The National Assembly will also consider the report of the standing committee on finance on the Financial Sector Laws Amendment Bill. One of the bill’s objectives is to create a comprehensive deposit insurance scheme to ensure that banking clients are paid their funds when a bank fails.
On Wednesday, ministers in the economics cluster will respond to questions in the National Assembly. The cluster comprises finance; communications and digital technologies; employment and labour; forestry, fisheries and the environment; mineral resources and energy ministers.
African Christian Democratic Party MP Steve Swart will ask finance minister Enoch Godongwana about the estimated medium- and long-term cost to the national economy caused by the destruction of infrastructure and property during the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July 2021.
On the same day, the select committee on finance will be briefed by the SA Special Risk Insurance Association (Sasria) on their quarterly reports. Sasria is the state insurer that provides cover against civil commotion, including strikes and riots. It previously said it could take up to 18 months to finalise claims related to the July unrest.
Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications will be briefed by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) on the spectrum auction process. The regulator is pushing to release more spectrum, which is critical for growth of the digital economy, but the project remains in a state of unpredictability and legal uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the select committee on transport, public service and administration, public works and infrastructure will be briefed by the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) on the progress report on the refurbishment of the railway infrastructure.
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