EFF statement on the National assembly Rules Committee’s decision to establish a Portfolio Committee for oversight of the Presidency
1 November 2024
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) welcomes the decision of the National Assembly Rules Committee to adopt a rule to establish a Portfolio Committee for oversight over the Presidency. This decision, supported by a majority of political parties in the committee—except for the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)—will strengthen Parliament's mechanisms to hold the executive accountable, particularly the President.
The Committee further agreed to establish a Petitions Committee and introduce interpolations as mechanisms to hold the executive accountable. This will leave little to no room for Ministers to appear in the House with poorly prepared responses or to offer vague and incompetent answers to members' statements and questions.
Since Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa took office in 2018, he has expanded the Presidency in terms of the number of Ministers, portfolios, functions, and state-owned entities under its purview. Today, the Presidency has a Minister of the Presidency and two Deputy Ministers, in addition to the position of Deputy President.
Ministers responsible for electricity and energy, planning, monitoring and evaluation, and women, youth, and persons with disabilities also fall under the Presidency.
Additionally, Mr. Ramaphosa has moved state security and the responsibility for realigning state-owned entities to the Presidency.
In the past five years, Mr. Ramaphosa has also established over 100 commissions, councils, funds, initiatives, programs, summits, task forces, and war rooms across various areas. These structures operate parallel to established departments, yet Parliament lacks a permanent and practical way to conduct oversight on them.
The result is a proliferation of activities in Mr. Ramaphosa's office that cannot be sufficiently addressed through mere question-and-answer sessions. For this reason, the EFF has consistently called for a permanent portfolio committee with a dedicated mandate to hold the President accountable and oversee all commissions, councils, funds, initiatives, programs, and related structures to ensure they are answerable to Parliament. This committee will also evaluate President budget as it has thus far been passed without any committee interrogation.
We must highlight that the President has taken over the school sanitation program in the Eastern Cape, yet schools still rely on dangerous pit toilets—tragically, even after two children fell to their deaths in these pit toilets in the Eastern Cape. Meanwhile, Mr. Ramaphosa is establishing a holding company for state-owned entities, with a board that will report directly to him, thereby undermining the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). This further centralizes power in his office while accountability and delivery remain glaringly absent.
We welcome this decision and urge all political parties to support the Rules Committee's report, which will lead to the establishment of a Portfolio Committee on the Presidency.
Issued by Leigh-Ann Mathys, National Spokesperson, EFF, 1 November 2024
