2020 Parliamentary Review: DA sets agenda for Parliament on burning issues

10 December 2020

Note to Editors: Please find the DA Parliamentary Review Document here.

For many South Africans, 2020 upended their lives in terrible ways. Many lost their lives and livelihoods, and everyone have had to adjust to a new normal that included finding innovative ways to work from home, wearing masks when out in the world, and social distancing from friends and family.

For the Democratic Alliance (DA), 2020 has been a year of innovation and progress. This year we held the largest ever virtual Elective Federal Congress of any political party in South Africa with great success.

While the DA made great strides in showing progress and adaptability, the government showed concerning signs of centralization via the illogical regulations of the National Command Council which instituted rules ranging from the laughable to the downright dangerous.

Despite the many challenges the perpetual State of Disaster has brought, and the efforts of government to seemingly circumvent the oversight role that Parliament plays, the DA has continued with every effort to hold government to account.

Outperforming all other opposition parties, the DA asked 66 % of all parliamentary questions (PQs) in the National Assembly (NA) this year. We submitted 1 893 written questions that matter to our constituencies and South Africans and 423 (49%) through the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). These questions play a vital role in holding the Executive to account and despite some Ministers doing their best to simply ignore the workings of Parliament, the DA’s questions revealed instances of either misconduct, maladministration or incompetence that would have simply been swept under the rug otherwise.

Without the DA’s scrutiny, South Africans might never have known:

That a chartered aircraft was used to fly President Cyril Ramaphosa to the World Cup and that government does not want South Africans to know how much this private aircraft cost them;

That only 1 660 names have been recorded in Part B of the Child Protection Register (CPR) since its establishment in 2010. This part of the Register is meant as a record of people who are unsuitable to work with children; or

That Parliament spent about R10 million a year on luxury flights for former ministers, deputies, and their spouses.

The DA also set the tone in Parliament in focusing the institution’s attention on some of the burning issues facing our fellow citizens and our institutions:

The Speaker this year granted the DA’s request for removal proceedings against Advocate BusisiweMkhwebane as Public Protector.

Due to pressure from the DA, NGOs and the press the rot at the National Lotteries Commission was exposed and Minister Patel finally tabled the Commission’s dodgy beneficiary lists.

Government accepted the DA’s proposal on Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) reprieve. The proposal allowed for businesses to skip UIF payments and expand UIF coverage to better protect affected workers.

We continued our opposition to the amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution as we reject land expropriation without compensation. The DA will continue to fight expropriation without compensation by every means necessary.

Launched a DA Courts Watching Briefs Unit as well as began the process to advocate for farm attacks to be classified as priority crimes.

The DA requested debates of national importance on: South Africa’s readiness for the Covid-19 pandemic; Covid procurement corruption; and the scourge of farm murders.

Not only did we work in Parliament to expose the rot and hold the Executive and public office bearers to account, but we also forced Parliament to look internally to hold Members of Parliament to account.

In the face of the EFF’s rising populism, fascism and destabilization tactics, the DA laid a host of charges against the party’s leadership, not only with South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and South African Police Service (SAPS), but also with Parliament’s Ethics Committee. We believe that Parliament has a responsibility to act as a bastion against utterances and behaviour that are at odds with our Constitutional democracy.

While the EFF has chosen the route of violence and incitement in an effort to stay relevant, the DA has used this year as an opportunity to address the worries of a wide range of constituencies across the country.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic laying the ANC and other political parties lame, the DA has actively proved we do not just do better where we govern in the Western Cape, but we have done better nationally for all South Africans through Parliament.

The year 2020 once again highlighted the important role Parliament can play in performing proper oversight. And while Parliament dropped the ball on a number of occasions, such as refusing the DA’s request for a Covid accountability committee and its slow start to get committees to work during the initial lockdown, the institution eventually come to the party by embracing technology. The DA will certainly push for Parliament to build on some of its achievements this year in becoming an institution with bite and making it more accessible to the public.

Finally, the DA would like to recognize the work and contributions made by our late colleagues, Belinda Bozzoli and Thandi Mpambo-Sibhukwana. Throughout this pandemic, Belinda fought passionately in the interests of learners and students across the country, while Thandi fought tirelessly to alleviate poverty and unemployment before sadly passing away in June.

We send strength and condolences to Belinda and Thandi's family and friends and to all those who have lost loved ones during this time.

Issued by Natasha Mazzone,Chief Whip of the Official Opposition, 10 December 2020