State Capture – Nothing has fundamentally changed in the operations or rules of Parliament

Dear Editor

The DA has noted the remarks by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, where he stated that should State Capture occur again, Parliament would never be able to prevent it as nothing has fundamentally changed in the operations or rules of Parliament.

This is true. And the DA has long held that a working and effective Parliament is not in the interests of the ANC. The ANC in Parliament has blocked every attempt to reform its way of conducting business. They have treated the Zondo Commission’s report and its recommendations with disdain and keep reminding people that these are mere recommendations and the institution isn’t bound by them.

The ANC has sought to shield those implicated by the commission from accountability and blankly refused to make any meaningful changes before the term is over. This will mean that the 7th Parliament will have nothing to rely on and insulate Parliament from within.

The DA has brought a raft of recommendations that flowed from the findings of the commission to the Rules Committee where these matters were meant to be dealt with. These recommendations were bluntly voted down by the ANC which has the majority.

The DA proposed that interpellations be reintroduced. This would allow for deeper interrogation of a subject matter from
ministers; something which isn’t possible with ordinary questions currently posed. This was voted down by the ANC using its majority in the Rules Committee.

We proposed that opposition MPs be considered to chair portfolio committees, in order increase accountability. Despite this being international best practice, it was voted down by the ANC.

The DA and other opposition parties have long called for a portfolio committee to oversee the work of the growing presidency. This hasn’t been implemented despite the fact that it’s been a long argument even before the work of the Zondo Commission. Instead of simply implementing this, the ANC wishes to first go do a comparative study on the practice. This isn’t needed. It’s a delaying tactic.

It is clear that the ANC does not want to implement the recommendations of the Zondo Commission. The R1 Billion, which was spent on the Commission, and the years of work gone into the Commission has unfortunately proven to be a waste.

Between Parliament’s unwillingness to act on the recommendations of the Zondo Commission, and the NPA’s admission that they lack capacity to successfully prosecute high level corruption from state capture it is clear that corruption and State Capture will not be decisively dealt with until the ANC is removed from government in 2024.

The DA stands firm in its commitment to rebuild Parliament into what it should be. This will include the building of the institution that is founded on principles of accountability and transparency, as well as ensuring that those who steal from the public purse do not find comfortable employment within the benches of Parliament.

Regards

Siviwe Gwarube MP
Chief Whip of the Official Opposition