The functions of the legislative branch of government are to:

• Develop and pass laws
• Contribute to developing policy
• Act as a watchdog on the activities of government

The legislature consists of the national parliament which is made up of different structures, for example, a national assembly, National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and various parliamentary committees. These are the key structures that you can lobby in the legislature:

Parliamentary Committees

The national parliament usually divides the members of parliament into small groups which focus on specific areas of governance. These smaller groups are called parliamentary or portfolio committees. The main role of the portfolio committees is to:

• Make sure that policy issues and new bills are properly debated and looked at carefully
• Allow members of parliament to become specialised in a particular field of interest, such as defence or agriculture
• Provide a forum where the public can interact with parliament and government on specific issues and new bills
• Discuss and assess the activities of other government departments

In 2015 there were 37 portfolio committees in national parliament, one for each government department and several internal to parliament. For example there are portfolio committees on correctional services, health and international relations and cooperation.

The parliamentary committees of the National Council of Provinces are called Select Committees. There are 11 Select Committees which manage the issues sent to them by the portfolio committees of national parliament.