Did you know there is a Parlimeter for national government?

It is a dashboard — still under development — showing portfolio committee attendance, the progress of bills, and similar measures at a glance. Citizens can use it to check how their elected representatives are actually performing, rather than how they describe their performance.

Did you know you have the right to write to a parliamentary committee?

Committees are where most of Parliament’s real business is organised. They have the time to study, interrogate and debate proposed legislation, policy proposals and budget plans, and to conduct oversight. There is a committee responsible for overseeing each government department.

Critically, they are also the point at which the public can put views directly to MPs — something that is not possible in a plenary sitting.

That is the practical part of this post. Writing to a committee is not a petition or a protest; it is a formal input into a process that is designed to receive it, and which receives comparatively few.

The tools

• Parlimeter dashboard.
• How to write to a parliamentary committee — Parliamentary Monitoring Group.
• Submit your input directly to a committee — People’s Assembly.

Related

Immigration Amendment Bill — Call for Comments · How Simple Exercises by Civil Society Keep Departments Accountable · Writing Letters to Counter the False Narrative

Shared by the South African Muslim Network (SAMNET) in the interest of knowing how our Parliament works, how our elected officials are performing, and encouraging greater participation in government.