ANC factionalism ensures another missed opportunity to build a stronger and more inclusive Parliament
2 July 2019
The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes that the ANC Members of Parliament have missed a golden opportunity to build a stronger and more inclusive Parliament that will allow for greater and more meaningful participation from all represented political parties.
In several portfolio committees, the DA has proposed credible alternative candidates for the position of Chairperson. These include the portfolio committees for Transport, Home Affairs, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Health, Tourism, Police, Social Development and Appropriations.
Instead, ANC members sitting on these portfolio committees elected to support deeply compromised candidates that have been at the forefront of state capture and the looting of national, provincial and municipal governments. This cast of characters now heading up Parliament’s portfolio committees include Zupta-era stalwarts and Magashule-faction heavies such as Supra Mahumapelo, Faith Muthambi, Mosebenzi Zwane, Sfiso Buthelezi and Bongani Bongo.
Portfolio committees has a very important function within Parliament. They are the engine rooms where members engage with government departments to ensure that Parliament fulfills its mandate of oversight over the executive. It is important that the individuals who lead these committees are prepared to be fearless in speaking truth to power.
How can it be that those who have evaded accountability and checks and balances for almost a decade, are now responsible for performing oversight and holding the executive to account.
The ANC’s actions have shown a complete disrespect for the electorate and the people of South Africa, more than a third of whom did not vote for the ANC and whose voices the ANC are trying to silence. They have set up the 6th Parliament to fail, as the 4th and 5thParliaments had, to hold the executive to account.
The DA will not stand by and allow this to happen. We will be submitting complaints against the wholly unsuitable ANC chairpersons to the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests. We will do everything in our power to make sure that the 6thParliament becomes a beacon of hope in the next five years, rather than a hollow institution at the mercy of ANC factions.
Issued by John Steenhuisen, Chief Whip of the Official Opposition, 2 July 2019
