Ramaphosa must account for Cabinet’s poor replies
17 November 2015
Section 55 of the Constitution (1996) states that the National Assembly (NA) must provide for mechanisms to ensure that all Executive organs of state in the national sphere of government are accountable to it, and to maintain oversight of the exercise of national Executive authority and any organ of state.
One of the mechanisms to ensure this accountability is written and oral parliamentary questions. However, despite their importance, the Fifth Parliament has experienced an unprecedented number of ‘non-replies’ by members of the Executive to both written and oral questions.
During the Fourth Parliament Ministers would simply flout the rules and not reply to opposition questions but once we successfully challenged that practice, they have now resorted to ‘non-replies’. This has presented a major challenge to the effectiveness of Parliament’s oversight function and has deprived Members of Parliament (MPs) and South Africans of answers to crucial issues facing our country.
Over the past year, the DA has compiled a report on the Executive’s poor replies in the NA and National Council of Provinces (NCOP), including misrepresentations of the rules on questions, the misuse of the sub judice rule, indefinite deferment of replies, substandard information, non- and even antagonising replies.
The NCOP has an additional, and particularly unique problem, whereby delegates who submit questions relating to their constituency or province are redirected to the relevant provincial departments. NCOP delegates however cannot submit questions in their respective legislatures, only in the NCOP, leaving them with no reply or recourse.
Some of the biggest offenders within the Executive this year have been Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Pravin Gordhan; Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula; Justice and Correctional Services Minister, Mike Masutha; Social Development Minister, Bathabile Dlamini; Public Works Minister, Thulas Nxesi; and Labour Minister, Mildred Oliphant.
With the local government elections just months away, it is of no surprise that Ministers within the Governance cluster, particularly Minister Gordhan, have resorted to these tactics. They are no doubt a deliberate attempt to hide government’s poor service delivery record before South Africans head to the polls next year.
The National Assembly Guide to Procedure (2004) prescribes strict parameters and deadlines for questions. Further, the rules of debate are applicable to questions and ones that – among others – contain offensive language and cast a reflection on the conduct or character of persons are not permissible. It would however appear that Ministers’ replies are not held to the same standards.
Currently there is no formal internal mechanism to appeal these poor replies, and appeals to the Questions Office have been met with resistance. The DA will now request a special meeting with the Leader of Government Business, Cyril Ramaphosa, to discuss the decreasing quality of replies by members of the Executive.
We will also request a meeting with the Secretary to the National Assembly, Mr Xaso, and the Secretary to the National Council of Provinces, Adv. Phindela, and lobby for the following procedural changes:
- The equal application of the Guide to Procedure’s rules regarding questions and replies.
- The institution of a system within the Questions Office whereby non-replies are automatically returned to the Order Paper.
Members of Parliament and the public-at-large require adequate knowledge of government activities to respectively fulfil their oversight role and make informed decisions at the polls.
The Executive’s continued evasion is depriving South Africans of answers to issues that matter to them such service delivery, the economy, and environment. The ANC government owes this institution, and the people it is mandated to serve, transparent and timeous responses.
Issued by DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen, 17 November 2015
