Ministers in the economic cluster will on Tuesday answer questions from MPs in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and on Wednesday in the National Assembly.
Those answering questions in the NCOP will include the ministers of public enterprises, agriculture, land reform & rural development, mineral resources, public works & infrastructure, communications & digital technologies, and forestry, fisheries & the environment.
In the National Assembly it will be the ministers of finance, electricity and mineral resources & energy, among others, who will be grilled by MPs.
The departments of home affairs, water & sanitation, mineral resources & energy and health will present their budget plans to their corresponding parliamentary committees on Tuesday, while the department of defence & military veterans will present its budget plan on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, the Eskom board will appear before the standing committee on public accounts as the committee further probes allegations about corruption, theft, maladministration, sabotage, lack of consequence management, cartels and other financial irregularities at the power utility.
This follows the appearance of former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter, who last week refused to name the senior politician who has allegedly been involved in corruption at the utility, citing security concerns.
This week, parliament will consider a motion by the DA to establish an ad hoc committee to oversee the work of newly appointed electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
Ramokgopa’s appointment, along with the implementation of the state of disaster in February (which has since been lifted), came at a time when SA is suffering from the worst power cuts since 2007 when Eskom first implemented load-shedding. He, however, has not yet been given any ministerial powers, making his role in the cabinet unclear because there are two ministries — public enterprises and minerals resources & energy — responsible for managing the energy sector.
Transnet talks
Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan will this week meet his counterparts in the Chinese government with the aim of resolving the impasse between Transnet and CRRC. The long-standing impasse means Transnet is unable to procure much-needed spare parts and components from CRRC to return to the tracks about 120 of its idle locomotives, which play a critical role in the haulage of bulk commodities such as coal and iron ore.
If the meeting is successful it would ensure that Transnet has sufficient rolling stock available to increase the volume of goods transported by rail; to upgrade infrastructure in rail and ports; to tackle security challenges; and to implement reforms to enable private sector investment.
Ace Magashule, the former Free State premier and ANC secretary-general, is back in court on Friday when the R225m Free State asbestos corruption case will resume. Magashule and 18 others stand accused of fraud, corruption and money laundering.
The case was postponed in January to allow for the finalisation of an appeal bid by Magashule and some of his co-accused in the Supreme Court of Appeal after he unsuccessfully tried to have the charges against him thrown out.
The charges led to the demise of his political career in the ANC two years ago when he was first charged. He was suspended from the ANC in May 2021 after he was indicted in accordance with the party’s step-aside rule. The rule holds that if a member of the party is indicted on criminal charges, they should step aside from their position. If they do not, they may be suspended.
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