We are happy to share with you the A! Policy Newsletter. The primary focus of the A! Policy Newsletter is to provide Acti­vators with monthly updates on policies, legislation and portfolio committees. We want to ease access to information about the public policy process and legislation so that as Activators you can engage meaningfully on policy matters that are of interest to you. We hope that the information provided will inspire you to follow up with elected representatives and hold them to account.

The Feb edition (A! Policy Newsletter Feb 2023)

The February Policy newsletter looks at the State of the Nation Address (SONA) as well as life after SONA. It also looks at ways in which we can interact with local government through the IDP process, we also hear from the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities regarding the National Youth Policy

The March edition: (A! Policy Newsletter March 2023)

March being Human Rights Month, the Policy newsletter covers Human Rights and also provides an update on the formation of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence & Femicide. We also reflect on the Cabinet Reshuffle and provide an update on Higher Education matters

The April edition: (A! Policy Newsletter April 2023)

The April edition reflects on freedom month by looking at youth participation. It also provides an update on the IEC’s civic campaign ahead of the 2024 elections. The NYDA met with the portfolio committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, and gave an update on their youth month plans. Lastly, we provide an update on two key legislations as well as a call for comments for the NYDA amendment bill.

About PMG:

The Parliamentary Monitoring Group, an information service, was established in 1995 as a partnership between Black Sash, Human Rights Committee and Idasa to provide 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. PMG aims to provide accurate, objective, and current information on all parliamentary committee proceedings in the form of detailed, unofficial minutes and documents and since 2007, sound recordings of the meeting.

PMG’s key activity is attending all Parliamentary Committee meetings, where a monitor will tape and minute the proceedings and obtain all documents tabled in the committees. Immediately after the meeting, the au­dio recording is published on the PMG website. Once a detailed written report has been compiled, it passes through an editorial and quality control process. It is then published on the PMG website within three working days of the committee proceedings along with all the relevant committee documents such as public submis­sions, working drafts of bills and briefings on policy & legislation.

Website: https://pmg.org.za/

About the PA:

The People’s Assembly website aims to promote accountability and bridge the gap between ordinary people and their elected representatives. It seeks to promote a greater public voice and enhance public participation in politics by providing information about our elected representatives and the institutions they serve and even allowing you, the citizen, to provide feedback.

Statistics show that there is a growing disconnect between citizens and their representatives. People often do not know who their MP is, how to contact them or what they do. The People’s Assembly website allows better scrutiny of our elected representatives.

The RepLocator allows you to find out who your representative is, and where your nearest constituency office is located and provide feedback on whether your constituency office is working well. People’s Assembly aims to bring you not only info about individual representatives but also show what each Member of Parliament has been saying in Parliament, while also allowing you to send messages and feedback to MPs and Committees.

Website: https://www.pa.org.za/