Cape Town - Several chairpersons of portfolio committees are not returning to Parliament after they were left off the ANC’s parliamentary and legislature lists.
On the list, submitted to the Electoral Commission, the ruling party has kept some of its senior MPs. However, some of those who chaired various committees in the National Assembly have been excluded.
Among those who are not on the list are chairpersons of the portfolio committees on labour Lemias Mashile, public enterprises’ Lungi Mnganga-Gcabashe and arts and culture’s Xoliswa Tom.
Acting chairperson of the justice committee, Madipoane Mothapo was also omitted. Yvonne Phosa, who chaired the standing committee on appropriations, is also not coming back to Parliament together with Phumzile Ngwenya-Mabila, who was chairperson of the committee on rural development and land reform.
The chairperson of the standing committee on international relations and co-operation, Siphosezwe Masango, will not be returning either.
The ANC, if it wins the elections in May, will have to elect new heads of committees. The party has said it wants to have new and younger MPs in the next Parliament. It has a 20-year-old candidate on its list.
Other parties in the past have also brought in young MPs to represent them in the provincial legislatures and National Assembly.
The EFF was recently lauded for its inclusion of young people on its parliamentary list.
This year’s elections are the most hotly contested since 1994.
The ANC will be fighting hard to retain power. The latest polls by Ipsos, have indicated that the ANC will receive 61% of the vote in May.
But other parties are breathing down its neck and there has been an increase in the number of parties contesting the elections.
The new committees of Parliament have to deal with a number of outstanding issues from the previous Parliament.
Speaker Baleka Mbete has said in its legacy report, Parliament must indicate where the problems are and how to address them in the new Parliament.