Parliament - The ANC in Parliament is satisfied with the level of accountability from President Jacob Zuma and his cabinet, and has observed an “ongoing positive improvement” in compliance to its parliamentary obligations.
This is despite an outcry from opposition parties in recent months that Zuma was in breach of the rules by not appearing before the House to account for the upgrades at his private Nkandla residence.
DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane said this week that Zuma’s refusal to answer questions in Parliament was an insult to the National Assembly and South Africans.
In its year-end statement, which covers seven areas, the party also notes how Parliament in recent months has been “tarnished by rampant anarchy, disorder, sheer roguishness disguised as militancy, political confusion and bankruptcy, and misguided gimmickry”.
“We are pleased that, despite competing and conflicting executive-parliamentary obligations at times, members of the executive have been faithful to their parliamentary work, which includes attendance of plenary sittings, committees, and responses to both written and oral questions,” said ANC spokesman Moloto Mothapo.
“This is a testament to the seriousness with which the executive regard their accountability to the people of South Africa.”
He said that in the six months following the elections, 2 249 replies were given by the executive to 3 032 written questions. Mothapo said that during the same period, the executive members were in the House to provide 427 oral responses out of a total of 470 questions posed by MPs.
“These statistics were recorded as at November 2014, meaning that they do not exclude the number of questions withdrawn by MPs.
“They also do not include the responses which the executive may have provided to the few outstanding questions,” said Mothapo.
He said Parliament provided for accounting mechanisms over the executive.
“In the last few months since the elections, the president interacted with Parliament on numerous occasions, including the State of the Nation address (Sona), response to the Sona debate, the Presidency budget vote debate, debate in the National Council of Provinces, and response to oral questions which was interrupted,” said Mothapo.
On the “erosion” of discipline in Parliament, Mothapo said that as the majority party, the ANC would “never allow this agenda to collapse this important institution of our constitutional democracy under our watch”.
“As we have said before, only the rules, the law and the constitution stand between this institution and its erosion by these unruly elements.”