Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen announced that his party will petition National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for the establishment of an ad hoc committee to monitor and implement recommendations in the State capture report.

Steenhuisen held a media briefing on Wednesday to announce a host of actions being taken by the DA to try to bolster the central role of Parliament in the country’s democracy. He was joined by DA chief whip Natasha Mazzone and DA deputy chief whip Siviwe Gwarube.

He said the DA had been working to ensure that Parliament did not simply sweep the findings and recommendations contained within the State capture report under the rug.

He said his party would be keeping up the pressure in the coming months to ensure that the findings of the Zondo report are timeously processed and actioned by Parliament.

“We will not allow this report to be forgotten by Parliament, with no firm action being taken to reform the institution where required,” he said.

He said it was time to change Parliament from a “rubber-stamping lapdog under the African National Congress” (ANC) to an effective oversight body to prevent future instances of State capture and cadre deployment.

Steenhuisen says the Zondo report vindicated the DA’s belief that Parliament had failed to hold the executive to account.

He added that a proposal to call for the establishment of a portfolio committee to conduct oversight over the Presidency throughout each parliamentary term will also be submitted to Mapisa-Nqakula.

“There is currently no effective and regular oversight mechanism over the acts and omissions of the President and the Presidency, with even Chief Justice Raymond Zondo pointing this out in his reports,” Steenhuisen said.

The DA also felt that there was no effective mechanism for MPs to hold the Speaker to account, saying to ensure improved oversight, the party would seek to add an additional responsibility of the Speaker to account before Parliament generally, and to answer questions from ordinary MPs.

AMENDMENT TO RULES

The DA will also seek an amendment to the rules that allow for a set number of committees to be chaired by opposition MPs based on representation levels in Parliament, and it will look into reducing the number of votes required to call a member of the executive before the committee.

The party would also suggest legislation that would provide greater clarity on the powers of oversight afforded to MPs and make explicit provision for unannounced oversight visits.

The DA will also advocate for a greater proportion of the Parliamentary budget to be allocated to portfolio committees for more frequent and effective oversight and meaningful public participation.

ORAL QUESTIONS SESSIONS, MEETINGS

The President currently provides Parliament with oral replies to questions at least once per quarter, but the DA wants to increase this to at least once a month.

The DA explained that far too often, members of the executive failed to appear for parliamentary meetings on time or at all. Gwarube said it had also become an increasing occurrence for them to fail to adequately answer oral questions, or even at all.

She explained that the DA would seek to create new Parliamentary Rules which outlined pre-set repercussions for a Minister who failed to attend a pre-determined number of question sessions or failed to attend a committee meeting without adequate cause.

The DA wants to amend Rule 136 to require that a Minster who fails to meet their obligations in terms of responding to parliamentary questions, be referred to the Powers and Privileges Committee for contempt of Parliament.