The Eastern Cape provincial legislature has decided not to debate the soon-to-be tabled provincial budget, but to postpone the discussion until after the elections.

This is one of the decisions taken by the revamped Programming Committee at its meeting yesterday.

This means neither the Appropriation Bill nor the budget, which is to be introduced by finance MEC Enoch Godongwana in the legislature on February 26, will be discussed until a new provincial executive council and new legislature members are sworn in, probably towards the end of April or early in May.

The implication of the decision is that if Godongwana is not appointed to the finance portfolio after the next election, a new MEC will have to answer the usually tough legislature questions on the budget.

Committee chairperson Sicelo Gqobana said the reason for the postponement to allow MPLs campaign and do constituency work.

Gqobana also decided the education standing committee should undertake school visits throughout the province from January 19, when schools open, to January 26.

Gqobana said other members of the legislature who were not members of the standing committee were expected to visit schools in their constituencies during the same week. But the MPLs would have to reserve January 24 and 25 to mobilise people to register to vote.

Gqobana said the programming committee's meeting yesterday decided that the legislature committees should consider the three bills.

The process would start with the deliberation of the Eastern Cape Municipal Development Bill next week the committees would look at the Archives Bill and the Liquor Act Amendment Bill.

"If all these bills pass the test they will be debated on the week of February 16 in the legislature," Gqobana said.

He said the week of February 2 to 12 has been set aside as a committee week while the whole of March has been declared a constituency month. – Sapa.