The National Assembly meeting commenced with a motion tabled on behalf of the government calling for the approval of supplementary estimates for the year 1999 for a total of R97,307,229 as certified by the auditor general and the principal secretary for Finance.

The afternoon Budget Address focused on the Appropriation Bill 2001 which proposed an increase of R41,788,000 from the 2000 national budget to R1,225,536,000 for the coming year. The National Assembly set a date of December 21 for the debate over the Appropriation Bill to be continued.

Hints dropped by the government have led commentators to believe that the government's Education Department will receive the biggest slice of the budget with an allocation of R139 million which is an increase of R1 million over the 2000 figure. Next in line for cash will be the Ministry of Health with an allocation of R137,225,000 which is also an increase over the 2000 figure (R135,244,000). R67,890,000 will go to the Department of Internal Affairs and R60 million to the Ministry of Defence. Both figures are slightly higher than last year's.