Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane was in Parliament again on Thursday, not to be told about that pending decision on an inquiry into her fitness for office, but to present her annual report. It was civil and brief. MPs are fully focused on the sausage factory of departmental and entities' annual reports which must be completed next week.

Meanwhile, across Parliament Avenue, Cabinet announced two policy flip-flops - one on the digital migration set-top boxes, the other on how the petrol price is done.

It's that time of the year. At any given time, 20 and more committees are sitting to plough through annual reports, including the audited financial statements and performance assessments.

They're long days - some committees have not only a department but also anything between four to 24 entities reporting - made longer as in 2018 the whole budget review and recommendation reports (BRRR) process is concentrated into just two weeks.

Ahead of the 2019 elections, the longer constituency periods that parliamentarians accord themselves are important.

This BRRR process is part of Parliament's oversight and preparation for the...