The delayed ANC conference in the Eastern Cape was set to be held this week from Friday to Sunday.
The Eastern Cape is the third-largest province in terms of ANC membership after KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
The outcome of the conference, to elect a provincial leader and executive committee, will have implications for President Cyril Ramaphosa's bid for a second term as ANC president at the ANC national conference to be held in December.
The race for provincial leadership is between premier Oscar Mabuyane, who has declared himself in favour of a Ramaphosa presidency, and public works MEC Babalo Madikizela who has also publicly supported Ramaphosa but was reportedly in favour of former health minister Zweli Mkhize getting a position in the party’s top six. Mkhize also has strong support in KwaZulu-Natal.
Also featuring prominently will be the voluminous fourth report of the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture which was handed to Ramaphosa on Friday. The report’s four volumes of more than 1,000 pages covered Eskom, the attempted capture of the National Treasury, technology services company EOH and the City of Johannesburg, diamond miner Alexkor, and the Free State asbestos audit and its housing scam.
Further ANC policy discussion documents which would be debated at the party’s policy conference later this year were expected to be released to the public this week. A document on the party’s economic policy which proposes greater private-sector involvement in the economy, has already been released. The economic policy proposes that private sector companies buy stakes in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), play a bigger role in infrastructure funding and help solve the country’s energy crisis.
Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has indicated that he will release a white paper on national rail policy this week.
This year's Tourism Indaba will take place from Monday to Thursday at the Durban International Convention Centre .
It will be a busy week in parliament with the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces holding plenary sessions and a host of committees having meetings.
On Wednesday, ministers in the economic cluster will answer MPs questions in the National Assembly. Mbalula will be asked about the shift from road to rail, and public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan will deal with questions about Eskom; the suitability of its leadership; and the energy-supply problems that lead to frequent load-shedding.
Gordhan will also be questioned on private-sector involvement in Transnet’s rail network and its infrastructure challenges that inhibit the unlocking of the coal industry’s economic potential in the context of strong global demand. Trade, industry and competition minister Ebrahim Patel will be questioned about measures he has taken to cushion consumers against high food prices; scrap metal exports; and assistance given under the Sugar Master Plan for the confectionery manufacturing industry against high sugar prices.
On Tuesday, the National Assembly will debate Freedom Day and the National Council of Provinces will discuss employment strategies in a post Covid-19 economic recovery. On Thursday, the National Assembly will debate the energy crisis and the threat of protracted failure at Eskom.
Parliamentary committees will continue with their focus on the annual performance and strategic plans and budgets of government departments and their entities. The standing committee on finance will engage with Sars on this on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the finance committee will hold public hearings on the Financial Sector and Deposit Insurance Levies Bill [B3 — 2022] and the Financial Sector and Deposit Insurance Levies (Administration) and Deposit Insurance Premiums Bill. These bills relate to the introduction of deposit insurance for banking clients.
Also being watched is the rise in Covid-19 infections and a possible fifth wave of the pandemic.
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