The failure of departments is the failure of provincial parliament

With the opening of the legislature taking place next month, it is worth revisiting the damning report of the Auditor General (AG) on the 2010/2011 outcomes, indicating that no provincial department in the Northern Cape received a clean audit and highlighting its dismal financial performance.

Hidden amongst the detail of the AG's latest report of the province and the debates surrounding it, is the very important but often overlooked fact that the financial failure is a clear indication of a dysfunctional provincial parliament. 

It is the provincial legislature which passes the budgets of departments, it is members of the legislature who are privy to quarterly reports that clearly show patterns of expenditure, it is the legislature which writes reports and recommendations on corrective measures that need to be taken within departments, and it is the legislature that can summons and interrogate individuals long before millions of rands are wasted and even more is spent on court cases.

Currently, however, the legislature is nothing but a rubber stamp. Debates centre on superficial matters and committees are rendered null and void by the non-submission of reports and the avoidance of meetings that are intended to get to the bottom of maladministration. The AG's findings are then treated as a big surprise whilst in actual fact all members of the legislature were aware of the expected outcome.

The fact is that as long as members of the provincial legislature, and in particular those sitting on the ineffective Standing Committee On Public Accounts, realize that they are not here to serve their party bosses and toe the party line but rather to serve the people of the province, we will get nowhere!

The DA intends tackling this matter with the utmost earnestness as soon as the legislature reopens by ensuring that the programme of the legislature becomes more robust, reflecting matters of interest to the public, and that the legislature holds MEC's properly accountable.

Here are a couple examples of how the legislature has failed in the past year, contributing to the dismal performance of departments and the notion that MEC's can get away with almost anything:

• A report by the Northern Cape Department of Health on how they entail dealing with the water purifiers, worth millions of rands that are not in use, has to date not been forthcoming
• The forensic investigation by the AG into the medical waste contracts has not yet been presented despite being completed
• The AG report on the performance audit of infrastructure delivery in the province has not been presented albeit having significant bearing on the construction of the New Mental Hospital
• There has been no detailed briefing by the Department of Social Services on the Balelapa project
• There has been no briefing by the Department of Health on the fax and copier contracts
• There has been no briefing on the Trifecta lease agreements signed by Yolanda Botha that pertains to the Department of Social Services
• The debate on the anti-rape strategy has not materialized
• The debate on the Northern Cape Provincial Growth and Development Strategy has not materialized

It is high time that debates become more relevant and committees more vibrant and critical. Legislatures are mandated to play a vital role in securing accountability and provide the space where "the people's voice can be heard".

They have the task of making sure that the executive is spending public money, raised through taxes, appropriately.  Failure by departments to do so is a failure on the part of the legislature and all its members.

Statement issued by Karen de Kock, MPL, DA Northern Cape: SCOPA, January 24 2012

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