Parliament must make virtual meeting of the health committee open to the public
9 April 2020
Parliament has finally acceded to the Democratic Alliance's (DA) call for a virtual meeting of the health portfolio committee to discuss urgent issues pertaining to the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.
Last week I wrote to the Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Dr.SibongiseniDhlomo, requesting that the committee be reconvened during this lockdown period as a matter of urgency to exercise Parliament’s crucial oversight role. Critically, I highlighted that the health portfolio should lead the charge in this regard due to the seriousness of the issues which are unfolding in the country on a daily basis.
This meeting will now be taking place on Friday the 10th of April. The Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, will be responding to questions from members of the committee regarding some key elements of the Covid-19 strategy.
This is an important precedent being set by Parliament. The health committee will be the first to convene virtually during this crisis. It is critical that this meeting and others that will take place are conducted on a platform that will allow for interaction from the public as well. The business of Parliament is the business of the people of South Africa.
The DA will specifically seek answers on the following key issues:
The collation, analysis and the reporting of the infection figures;
The rollout of community and mass testing and screening;
The availability of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers;
The projections and considerations that need to be made as we head into the last week of lockdown. It will be key that we also look at international examples of how other countries have handled this issue while we understand that we have our own unique set of circumstances as a country.
The Western Cape has set a great example of establishing an ad hoc committee to be able to exercise oversight on the work of the Western Cape Government in dealing with Covid-19. This is an excellent demonstration of a legislature at work and a responsive government.
We welcome this historic meeting of the committee and urge that public participation is upheld in accordance with section 59 (1)(b) and section 59 (2) of the Constitution which makes the need for open meetings explicit.
The Health response in this pandemic has been commendable and the DA will continue to support the efforts of the South African government in dealing with this global health crisis. However, Parliament has a critical role to play on behalf of the people of South Africa. We cannot neglect to do job that we were entrusted with.
Issued by Siviwe Gwarube, DA Shadow Minister of Health, 9 April 2020
