Is President Zuma avoiding oral questions on Nkandla in Parliament?

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is concerned that the National Assembly has still not received even a provisional date from the Presidency for when President Jacob Zuma will be answering oral questions in the House during Parliament's first term of the year. 

If oral questions are not organized this term, it would create suspicions that the President is again trying to avoiding answering questions on the controversial issues that have outraged South Africans during his term in office, including Nkandlagate and the loss of over 1.3 million jobs.

The rules on this matter are clear: "Questions to the President must be scheduled for a question day at least once per term" (NA Rule 111). It is highly revealing that this has yet to be finalised despite both oral question sessions for the Peace and Security and Social Services Clusters having already been scheduled.

Indeed, it is unacceptable that Parliament must wait for a date to be given by the Presidency for both of these critical mechanisms of Executive oversight to be scheduled.

The bottom line is that President Zuma cannot pick and choose whether or when he fulfils his constitutional obligations to Parliament. And he certainly can't avoid answering questions on Nkandla because it is an election year.

It seems increasingly clear that President Zuma is nervous about facing hard questions in Parliament. He has answered questions only 16 times in the National Assembly since 2009, and managed to avoid answering questions for a period of 6 months in 2011. 

Last year the President did not answer questions in the final term of the National Assembly on the grounds that he was answering oral questions in the National Council of Provinces. 

The President of our country has therefore not answered any oral questions in the National Assembly since June 2013.

The DA sincerely hopes that between now and the National Assembly's next Programme Committee meeting the Presidency supplies Parliament with confirmed dates for this important oversight session. The DA Chief Whip, Watty Watson MP, will take every step possible to ensure that this happens.

South Africans deserve answers on the high levels of corruption and unemployment which have plagued his term in office. He must come to Parliament and face the music. 

Statement issued by Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, Democratic Alliance Parliamentary Leader, January 16 2014

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