Cape Town – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has called for the establishment of a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee to oversee the affairs of the Presidency.
According to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, “one of the peculiarities of our parliamentary system is that there is no parliamentary committee that oversees the Presidency. While every government department is subject to consistent parliamentary oversight, this is not the case for the Presidency”.
The group added: “The Presidency is the only department/entity that receives a budget from Parliament without detailed, rigorous parliamentary scrutiny by a parliamentary committee.”
According to EWN, EFF leader Julius Malema said ministerial offices under the presidency umbrella, like the minister for electricity, are operating without the checks and balances of Parliament.
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“So many departments get put under one office which has got no oversight committee on it, and the president is not prepared to budge on the oversight, which confirms that thing he was saying that he is the most transparent president who is available to take accountability… has never allowed Parliament to hold him accountable,” the report quoted Malema as saying.
The report said that since the revelations of the Phala Phala saga involving President Cyril Ramaphosa, opposition parties in the National Assembly have been calling for a multiparty oversight committee on the presidency.
On Wednesday, African National Congress (ANC) used its majority votes in the National Assembly to block the impeachment inquiry against President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile said that the governing party was well within its rights to close rank around Ramaphosa, and urged members of the opposition to await ongoing investigations by state institutions.
“The president has expressed his commitment to cooperate fully with all investigations, so there is no shielding. I think sometimes there’s a zeal to find the president guilty without going through due process. It’s not correct.
“We are a democracy. We’ve institutions set up – independent – nobody is interfering with them. Let’s not be impatient. Let’s allow these institutions to do their work properly. The president is co-operating , he is not interfering and I can assure you that institutions are doing their work without fear or favour,” Mashatile said during his maiden question and answer session in Parliament on Thursday.
[WATCH] EFF MP Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi asks Deputy President Paul Mashitile for his views on the ANC’s use of its majority to ‘shield the president from accountability’ on #Phalaphala. #MashatileQ&A #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/izROBa45HG
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 23, 2023
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
