EFF statement on the failure of Parliament to establish important Committees

12 September 2024

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is concerned by the failure of the Parliament executive to establish important committees and working bodies. These committees and working bodies include the Joint Multiparty Women's Caucus, the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, Joint Standing Committee on Ethics and Members Interest, Petition Committees and the Joint Standing Committee on the Finance Management of Parliament.

The EFF is concerned that, while the ANC and DA, the two main parties of the DA-led coalition government, are failing to chair the committees, the work of Parliament is being undermined.

We concluded Women's Month in August without any parliamentary activities. In the past, parliamentary activities, led by the Joint Multiparty Women's Caucus, provided an opportunity to reflect on the scourge of gender-based violence, evaluate interventions, and draft practical and concrete programmes to elevate issues affecting women.

This is worsened by the fact that the two political parties involved in the coalition government, which have failed to make any progress in fighting the scourge of gender-based violence, have now brought this attitude into Parliament.

The EFF is particularly concerned that one of the committees, the Joint Standing Committee on Finance Management of Parliament (JSFMP), plays a central role in overseeing the parliamentary executive and how the funds of Parliament are spent.

In the absence of this committee, there is no proper scrutiny of the Parliamentary budget. As it stands, the executive has no one to account to, while it spends millions on senseless and fruitless expenditure on hotels and functions, with the refurbishment of Parliament going unmonitored. Previously, we witnessed a situation where the executive abused this lackadaisical attitude of Members of Parliament and spent the funds of Parliament in a reckless and corrupt manner.

Furthermore, there are issues affecting the work of Parliament, including the venues of meetings and logistical arrangements, which the Secretary of Parliament is failing to resolve, as they are the responsibilities of a seemingly incompetent public works department.

The EFF maintains that Parliament must resume with complete physical sittings and full functionality. The current manner in which the business of Parliament is being handled demonstrates attempts to shield the executive from accounting, and as a result, the work of Parliament is being sabotaged.

Issued by Leigh-Ann Mathys, National Spokesperson, 12 September 2024