Cape Town - The ATM wants Parliament to establish a new portfolio committee that will play an oversight role in the presidency with effect from the next financial year, 2023-24, which starts in April.
The party’s leader Vuyolwethu Zungula wrote to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, saying director-general (DG) in the presidency Phindile Baleni should regularly be accounting to Parliament like all other heads of departments.
Other opposition parties including the DA have made similar calls, saying there was no mechanism to oversee the president.
In his report on state capture, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo recommended the establishment of a committee to oversee the president and the presidency among other things.
This had prompted DA leader John Steenhuisen to unveil its ten-point plan aimed to get the national legislature to work for the people last July.
Steenhuisen said at the time there was no effective and regular oversight mechanism to watch over Ramaphosa’s acts and omissions and those of the presidency.
“To close this gap, the DA will submit a proposal to the Speaker in line with the Rules Committee– to call for the establishment of a Portfolio Committee to conduct oversight over the Presidency throughout each parliamentary term,” Steenhuisen said.
Parliament said the proposal on establishing a portfolio committee playing such an oversight role should be referred to the rules committee.
The matter is still being considered by the committee.
In his letter to Mapisa-Nqakula, Zungula said there were functions and activities in the presidency that had no natural fit with any of the portfolios within it.
“Those activities ostensibly report directly to the President and there is currently no parliamentary committee that exercises oversight over those ad hoc/spontaneous units including Infrastructure, investments and various envoys (political and economic) to name but a few.
“These loosely arranged activities under the sole leadership of the president are not even audited by the Auditor-General and thus even escape the scrutiny of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts,” he said.
Zungula said the budget in the presidency has now expanded beyond private office operations like remuneration of office bearers and staff.
“The president himself has now become an Executive Authority of units that are spending millions every year but no accountability to Parliament.
“It is against this background that the ATM is requesting the Speaker to set up a portfolio committee that will specifically exercise oversight over all the units and activities that do not find expression in the current portfolios and thus are falling through the cracks in terms of being held accountable for spending millions of taxpayers’ monies.”
He said his request was in keeping with the mission statement of Parliament and Ramaphosa’s expressed commitment during Sona on February 9 to implement recommendations by the Zondo Commission.
Zungula added the new committee could also receive reports regarding the billions of dollars Ramaphosa was reported to have mobilised in funds and grants.
“The director-general in the presidency should be regularly accounting to Parliament, like all other DG’s for all monies spent and received in the name of the President and Deputy President.
“The ATM is requesting an urgent response so that there is sufficient time to put this request into effect into the 2023/24 financial year calendar.”
Cape Times