The Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Mr Geordin Hill-Lewis, is scheduled to officially hand-over the Cape Town City Hall to the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Mr Amos Masondo tomorrow, Monday, 31 January at 9:30 am. The Hall will thereafter be declared as a precinct of Parliament of South Africa. 
 
The hand-over of this historic facility, which was built in 1905, follows a decision by the Presiding Officers, in consultation with parties, that it is a fitting alternative venue to host the 2022 SONA.
 
The Presiding Officers had to find a suitable venue for the delivery of the SONA, its debate and the reply by the President, after parts of Parliament, including the National Assembly building where the SONA is traditionally delivered since the dawn of democracy, were gutted by fire.
 
The agenda of Parliament for this week will also carry a two-day National Council of Provinces’ (NCOP’s) workshop on Cooperative Governance and Intergovernmental Relations under the theme “Taking a lead in advancing co-operative governance and intergovernmental relations”.
 
The permanent delegates to the NCOP, Premiers, MECs, as well as Members of the Provincial Legislatures, are expected to attend the workshop, which will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
On Tuesday, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, is scheduled to address the gathering on the advancement of the fundamental precepts of cooperative governance and intergovernmental relations for effective service delivery to communities.
 
Dr Andrew Siddle from the University of Cape Town and Dr David Mohale from the Durban University of Technology will address the workshop on principles of accounting, meaning and application underpinning cooperative governance; while Professor Chris Tapscott from the University of the Western Cape’s school of government and the Director-General of the Department of Cooperative Governance, Ms Avril Williams, will explore the policy framework and legal jurisprudence in the meaning and application of cooperative governance and intergovernmental relations in South Africa.
 
On Wednesday, Professor Gerrit van der Waldt from the University of North West, the Chairperson of the Municipal Demarcation Board, Mr Thabo Manyoni, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr David Masondo, and the Auditor-General of South Africa, Ms Tsakani Malukeka are scheduled to address the workshop.
 
Committee meetings are scheduled as follows:
 
Tuesday: The Standing Committee on Public Accounts, (SCOPA), will be briefed by the Presidency on all the reports referred by the Special Investigative Unit on how they have been processed. Meanwhile, the Standing Committee on Finance will be briefed by the Minister of Finance on the R11 Billion World Bank Loan, if the loan was warranted, and at what cost.

The Portfolio Committee on Tourism will be briefed by the Department of Tourism on the First and Second Quarter Performance Report of 2021/22 financial year and the committee programme for the first term.

The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, its Sub- Committee will be briefed on renewability or non-renewability process of a Commissioner for the Public Service Commission, and the Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities will receive a briefing from the Commission for Gender Equality on different reports.

Wednesday:  The Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation will be briefed by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation on the performance of the department on quarters 1 and 2 of the 2021/22 financial year.

Issued by Parliament of South Africa