President Cyril Ramaphosa and his deputy, David Mabuza, are expected to appear separately in both houses of parliament this week to answer questions from public representatives.
Ramaphosa will appear before the National Assembly in a hybrid session on Thursday, while Mabuza will answer questions from MPs from the National Council of Provinces on Wednesday. The question and answer sessions with the president and the deputy in parliament are held once every quarter and are a mechanism that MPs may use to hold the executive accountable.
On Tuesday MPs in the National Assembly will hold a debate on the impact that the Russia and Ukraine conflict has had on the SA economy. The government has been criticised by the US, Ukraine and EU for its decision to abstain from the recent UN General Assembly vote censuring Russia for the invasion of its neighbour. The majority of countries voted to condemn Russia.
SA, which has already experienced the impact of the conflict on fuel and commodity prices, has justified its decision to abstain from the vote saying an affirmative voting would not provide for an environment that is conducive for a diplomatic end to the impasse.
The National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) will on Friday begin public hearings on the application by Turkish-owned Karpowership SA to grant it a licence to generate power on floating gas ships at three of SA’s ports as part of the government’s procurement of emergency power.
Karpowership has faced numerous battles from environmental groups and rival firms since the government in 2021 announced it as one of the bidders.
Besides requiring the regulator’s approval, Karpowership still needs to clear regulatory hurdles including environmental concerns and a fresh court bid from rival firm DNG Energy, which has filed a review of an earlier decision by the court to uphold Karpowership SA as a preferred bidder.
The wage strike at Sibanye-Stillwater gold mines is set to continue this week after the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union and the National Union of Mineworkers downed tools last week, demanding higher pay. The gold producer instituted a lock out of workers last Thursday and a no-work-no-pay principle, saying the R1,000 per month pay increase demanded by the unions is unsustainable.
The lockout is expected to remain until a settlement is reached between unions and management or until unions accept the 5% wage increase placed on the table by Sibanye.
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