YOUTH, WOMEN AND RURAL SOUTH AFRICANS


SECTORAL PARLIAMENTS FOR YOUTH, WOMEN AND RURAL SOUTH AFRICANS


To involve the public in their governance, Parliament introduced “sectoral Parliaments” for those who ordinarily would not be able to access Parliament – young people, women and residents of small, more remote communities. The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly writes that these events promote involvement in the parliamentary process and keep alive South Africa’s long tradition of grassroots mass movements.


Hon. Nomaindya Mfeketo, MP, in Cape Town. Ms Mfeketo has been the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2009. She chaired the African National Congress (ANC) Caucus in 2008. She became the first female Executive Mayor of a major South African city in 2003 when she became Mayor of Cape Town. She has also served as a Political Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.


creed, gender, race or religion. It is the embodiment of parliamentary democracy as set out in the founding document, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which constitutes rule “of, by, for and through the people”.


Hon. Nomaindya Mfeketo, MP


South Africa’s sectoral Parliaments, which take various forms and are held in various places, were introduced so that all members of society, such as people living in rural areas or the country’s youth or women, could be involved in the working of Parliament. They generally consist of, but are not limited to, three types of institutional events: a Women’s Parliament, a Youth Parliament and a People’s Assembly.


These sectoral events play an important role in the efforts of Parliament to extend participation in its workings to all parts of the population, irrespective of age, class,


10 | The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue One - South Africa


In February 2005, Parliament adopted its vision to “build a people’s Parliament that is responsive to the needs of all the people of South Africa”. Through this vision it strives to create a transformed, democratic and open society that improves the quality of life of all South Africans, ensures meaningful and active public participation that educates and informs people and provides access to Parliament. This vision is closely linked to one of Parliament’s core objectives – to “facilitate public participation and involvement”. Public participation and involvement form an integral part of the business of Parliament, and public participation initiatives such as sectoral Parliaments were established to give expression to the vision and core objectives outlined above. Moreover, Sections 59 and 72 of the constitution provide for the


National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces to facilitate public involvement in legislative and other processes. Initiatives such as the Youth Parliament are aimed at giving expression to these constitutional provisions.


Sectoral Parliaments serve as platforms for Members of Parliament to interact with the public as the electorate. Although they have developed their own momentum, they spring from and are linked to seminal events in South Africa’s young democratic history.


The young continue to speak out


A Youth Parliament is held every year to mark 16 June 1976, when thousands of students from high schools in Soweto protested against Bantu education and apartheid. The disparity in the government school subsidy at that time was telling: R644 was spent on each white child, but only R42 on each black child in the Bantu education system. The pupils succeeded by and large in keeping secret their arrangements for that day, the day


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199