Restoring Parliament’s dignity: Addressing chaos, decay and the urgent need for revitalisation

The following speech by George Michalakis MP – Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance, was delivered during the plenary Debate on Vote 2: Parliament this afternoon:

Madam Speaker

Those who have never been a part of Parliament will not understand and appreciate the crazy, unpredictable, wonderful place that it is. A degree of this is necessary and is normal. It is, in my view, Parliament’s own way of making sure she retains those who respect her, and spits out those who are here for the wrong reason. A degree of chaos and clever confusion is needed.

But there is a difference between parliamentary chaos, and parliamentary decay. Over the last 10 or more years, and in particular since the fire of 2022, Parliament has not been the same. For more than two years, the last administration dragged its feet in clearing up and rebuilding our House whilst in the City of Cape Town, brand new skyscrapers were going up.

I regard today, where we have to assemble in a marquee in a parking lot, as a low point for Parliament. It is commendable, Madam Speaker, that you want to have our sittings fully in person after Covid-19 and I support this, but we need a proper and permanent place to have our assemblies and we need it urgently.

For Parliament to remain robust, we need to have in-person contact in every committee possible. And along with that, there is the issue of proper translation services.

We must make affordable, effective translation services available in as many of our meetings as possible. And that will require that we have the facilities in place to do so. The money spent on hiring bays for translators could have covered the salaries of an extra few, or made sure that we retain those we already have. It is a scarce skill and we need to look after these individuals. It does give me some consolation that the new Deputy Speaker spent a large part of her life advocating for translation services both into other spoken languages as well as being a pioneer for sign language interpretation in South Africa.

At this point, I wish to thank the staff members in every department of this massive institution, who helped with the transition from the 6th Parliament to the 7th. Speaker, the dedication and institutional knowledge that we have here must be retained and the only way to do this is if we look after the staff who care very deeply for the institution they have spent their professional lives keeping together.

Apart from that, Madam Speaker, we need to ensure that Parliament becomes a conducive environment in which to work and to welcome visitors with pride. There are countless services and resources that have faded over the years that I have been here, with no explanation as to why the cost bill has not come down. Where are the services, and where is the money? They can’t both have disappeared.

Madam Speaker, in terms of our operations itself, it is vital that we implement a more robust committee system, where members are not simply left to ask once-off questions to departments, and then the scrutiny is over. We need to implement a robust system of engaging the executive like we have done before in Scopa and in the Justice Committee during the Thabo Bester investigation. Of course, this system is not appropriate at all times during for all business before the committees, but where appropriate, our committee chairpersons should allow for more freedom and engagement from members.

Apart from that, it will now more than ever be important to ensure that the policy objectives and targets set by every department and as set out during the President’s speech, need to be placed on the agendas of the portfolio committees and monitored closely. When it comes to oversight, it is first Parliament’s duty to monitor closely the implementation and realisation of these objectives, but also to ensure that we do from our side what we can to assist in making it a reality.

Our other key function is that of legislation, where we must move to a point where members can meaningfully make a contribution. I am very aware of the fact that not all members are lawyers, but they do not have to be. We need, however, to provide new members with the necessary capacity to interpret laws and not merely parrot researchers inside parliament and their parties.

A final operational matter that must be prioritised by Parliament, is the processing of petitions. It has been more than 12 years since the judgment in Oriani-Ambrosini v Speaker caused the scrapping of the petitions committee as collateral damage for allowing members to bring private members’ bills without permission. It cannot be that we are the only Parliament in the world where the petitions committee sits in the Upper House that is representing the provinces, and not in the Lower House that represents the people directly.

This, and the review of our rules to make Parliament suitable for the era of coalitions, will be vital in the coming year if we want to move forward.

Madam Speaker, none of these challenges are impossible to overcome. And by overcoming them, with each step we will not only restore the dignity of Parliament, but also her ability to facilitate the working of our democracy in a tangible manner. Because it is here where our democracy really should come alive.

It is not only an archaic institution that is nice to have for traditionalists. It is based on the most robust and inquisitive parliamentary processes in the world where the quirks serve a purpose and it is vital if we want to ensure that all ideas and voices of the people – not only from the government, but also the opposition – is aired and considered.

I, and the DA caucus, look forward to help make this a reality.

I thank you.