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What is the Parliamentary Monitoring Group?
The Parliamentary Monitoring Group, an information service, was established in 1995 as a partnership between Black Sash, Human Rights Committee and Idasa with the aim of providing a type of Hansard for the proceedings of the more than fifty South African Parliamentary Committees for these three advocacy organisations. This was because there is no official record publicly available of the committee proceedings - the engine room of Parliament - and this type of information is needed by social justice organisations to lobby the Parliament of South Africa on pieces of legislation, matters of democratic processes and parliamentary oversight of the executive.
This website was set up at the beginning of 1998 to make the information generated available to a wider audience. Presently this is the only source for this type of information. We hope that the PMG committee reports and other documents will provide the public with an insight into the Parliament of South Africa and its daily activity. Importantly it provides a window into the performance of each government department and public entity over which each parliamentary committee has oversight.
PMG became a fully fledged independent NGO in July 2009.
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Resources
Displaying 26 - 30 of 75Spatial Planning Land Use Management Act implementation; Rama and Riemvasmaak challenges: Department progress report; Committee Oversight Visit Report
The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DLDLR) provided a progress report on its interventions to address the challenges arising from the actions of the Rama Communal Property Association (CPA). The CPA had initiated some income generating activities on its land, which included a quarry business, and had started a museum and an entertainment centre that featured a cinema. In partnership with the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and private investors the CPA was in the process of developing houses on its land.
Commission on Restitution of Land Rights on its 2014/15 Annual Report
The Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform was briefed by the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR) on its 2014/15 annual report. The Commission had exceeded its targets by settling 428 new claims against a target of 379; finalising 372 claims against a target of 239; approving 119 projects against a target of 53; researching 1 525 claims against a target of 1 445; establishing 14 operational claims lodgement offices; and acquiring four mobile lodgement offices.
Operation Phakisa’s Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration: Department of Mineral Resources briefing
The Department of Mineral Resources is attempting to develop oil and gas drilling in South Africa through Operation Phakisa. The project is still in the early stages of research and exploration, but the Department aims to have 30 wells built in 10 years. DME estimates very roughly, that as many as 9 billion barrels of oil and 9 billion barrels of gas could be within South African borders, and many national and international companies have expressed interest in investing in South African drilling.
Expropriation Bill [B4-2015]: public hearings with Deputy Minister in attendance Day 2
Agri SA supported orderly land reform – equitable land distribution is a prerequisite for rural stability and inclusive rural development. Agri-SA believed that expropriation should only be used as a last resort where negotiations fail. There needed to be a clear purpose for expropriation. Compensation should never be dependent on the state’s ability to pay. The land owner should always be afforded recourse to the courts to contest both the merits of the expropriation and the compensation amount.
Expropriation Bill [B4-2015]: public hearings with Deputy Minister in attendance
The South African Institute of Race Relations said the Bill made it difficult for the compensation amount to be decided by a court, and the Bill did not allow the courts to examine and rule on the validity of the expropriation. The Bill tried to limit how often people could go to court about the amount of compensation. The IRR argued that 60 days was not enough time for the claimant to institute legal proceedings for the determination of the compensation, this should be extended to 180 days. Compensation should include damages for additional losses.