There is a strong push by opposition parties for the establishment of a dedicated portfolio committee in parliament to oversee the presidency to ensure accountability.
This has been a long-standing demand by opposition parties. The National Assembly’s rules committee, chaired by speaker Thoko Didiza, decided at a meeting on Tuesday to refer the matter to a subcommittee.
There has not been a dedicated committee for the presidency since the dawn of democracy in 1994.
African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) MP Steve Swart noted during the rules committee meeting that the report of the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture had recommended a dedicated committee to hold the presidency accountable.
EFF MP Veronica Mente noted that this accountability was all the more important given the increase in the scope of work of the presidency. “We want to know what is happening in the office of the president,” she said.
ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli did not have a problem with there being an additional committee on the presidency but questioned why the presidency could not report to the committee on planning, monitoring & evaluation as had been the case in the past.
Opposition MPs pointed out that this committee would be overstretched given the scope of work in the presidency. They noted that the presidency had taken over a number of additional responsibilities. President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his announcement on the new members of cabinet that due to the dissolution of the department of public enterprises, the co-ordination of the relevant public enterprises would be located in the presidency during the process of implementing a new shareholder model.
The rules committee decided that instead of the 15 members of committees that it decided on last week there would be 11 members because there were more departments. This would allow small parties to spread themselves over a larger number of committees.
The rules committee decided that there would be 30 portfolio committees to exercise oversight of the 32 ministries announced by Ramaphosa. The previous parliament had 27 committees.
Another issue that will be addressed at a rules subcommittee is where MPs who are members of parties that are part of the government of national unity should sit. Mente insisted that these MPs must sit with the government and that MK should be declared the main opposition party. She said the DA, for example, could not oppose itself.
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