During the opening of the Budget Vote 2 session held on Thursday (14/5) at the Bloemfontein City Hall, Free State legislature speaker Mxolisi Dukwana said they want to achieve this through rigorous and evidence-based oversight and foster meaningful public participation.

The event brought together various public stakeholders to review departmental programmes and funding priorities for the 2026/27 financial year, plan to improve governance, enforce accountability, and boost economic growth.

A focus of the budget was the modernisation of legislative operations and the strengthening of public transparency.

Additionally, the legislature has set up strict resolution tracking mechanisms to ensure that all provincial decisions are properly captured and followed through.

“By modernising our standing rules and orders, we reaffirm our commitment to a legislature that is both procedurally sound and substantively impactful,” said Dukwana.

To deepen democratic checks and balances, the legislature will establish an oversight ecosystem focus group. It will bring together experts from Chapter 9 and 10 institutions, alongside non-governmental organisations, to independently verify information submitted by the executive.

Various stakeholders at the Budget Vote 2 at the Bloemfontein City Hall. Photo: Free State Legislature

It will also sign formal memorandums of understanding with the office of the public protector, the University of the Free State, and the auditor-general to create structured frameworks for cooperation.

Furthermore, the budget addressed operational challenges within the Hansard directorate, which manages the official parliamentary record.

“The legislature will invest in a comprehensive modernisation of recording, transcription, and interpreting equipment to resolve current technical limitations and safeguard multilingual accessibility,” said Dukwana.

On a broader scale, the legislature noted that it is aligning with the national speakers' forum to speed up the digitisation of oversight tools by adopting electronic dashboards across all committees.

Furthermore, emphasis was also on the local governance remaining a top priority, with the legislature set to reinforce its oversight reach through Section 139 constitutional interventions.

These interventions will target recurring municipal weaknesses, including inadequate revenue collection and procurement non-compliance, while including small businesses in procurement processes to stimulate local economies.

“Let us rise to it with courage, independence, and unwavering commitment. The future of our democracy depends on it,” added Dukwana.

OFM News/Refilwe Bekane sm

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