DA concerned by CoGTA Minister Dlamini-Zuma’s absence in Parliament in the face of dysfunctional municipalities
19 October 2019
The Democratic Alliance (DA) can confirm that the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has missed all but one of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on CoGTA meetings. In addition to this, the Minster has also failed to give substantial responses to many of the opposition’s Parliamentary questions posed to her.
During this Sixth Parliament, the DA posed more than 69 written questions to the Minister and her department with the majority of the responses reading “[the] information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available in the Department. The information will be submitted to the Honourable Member as soon as it is available”.
The DA is of the view that Minister Dlamini-Zuma’s continued absence and deflection, is wrong both in principle and in practice because it hinders Parliament’s ability to effectively oversee the work of her department.
Portfolio Committees provide a crucial avenue for opposition parties, citizens and civic organizations to contribute to the policymaking process, through written submissions or by participating in public hearings. Quite frankly, it is unacceptable for Minister Dlamini-Zuma not to attend portfolio committees or answer Parliamentary questions in what seems to be an attempt to evade accountability.