‘It’s an insult to the ANC’: Here’s what GNU partners are squabbling about this time
· Citizen
The DA and the ANC are at each other’s throats again. This time, the two parties are locking horns over who can hold President Cyril Ramaphosa and his deputy, Paul Mashatile, accountable.
On Thursday, the newly formed committee that presides over the Executive met to elect a chairperson, but the 11 members could not agree on who should lead the committee.
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The DA’s Chief Whip in Parliament, George Michalakis, told MPs that his party is well placed for this position. But the ANC and other opposition parties disagreed.
After much deliberation, the committee agreed to postpone the chairperson’s election to another day.
Michalakis accepted and then seconded his own nomination as chair.
He told The Citizen he had thrown his hat\ in the ring because his party has “the most competent MPs in Parliament.”
” We have a track record of being effective, and we will ensure a fair and transparent committee.
“We also were at the forefront of setting up this committee and have a vision for it, which is to ensure an open and accountable presidency,” said Michalakis.
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Can the ANC hold its President accountable?
He said it is important that whoever occupies this position is not a member of the same party as the president. The ANC had nominated their deputy chief whip, Doris Mpapane, to take this role.
“The chairperson should not be from the same party as the President. Oversight needs to be seen to be done in practice, and there can be no doubt that the president is not shielded.
“A chairperson from a different party from that of the president will instil confidence in the committee as the watchdog,” said Michalakis.
He said the DA refuses to be bullied by the ANC, and that is why the DA fielded its own candidate.
“The president and Presidency, including the DG, are not currently accountable to any parliamentary committee. He is the head of government – is it not obvious that he should be as accountable as every other member of the cabinet?” he said.
Michalakis said he hopes the matter is resolved soon.
ANC outrage by DA’s objection
ANC Chief Whip in parliament, Mdumiseni Ntuli, said the ANC is capable of holding the president and his deputy accountable.
“All committees are responsible for holding the executive to account, including the new committee on the Presidency. Almost all committees are led or chaired by parties in the GNU, including the DA.
“So the argument that this one in particular will be achieved only if it’s led by the DA reflects a strange way of thinking. It is actually an insult to the ANC to suggest that it is less capable than the DA to hold the President accountable,” said Ntuli.
MK party also wants the position
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party also wants the position, putting forward their parliamentary Chief Whip, Mmabatho Mokoena-Zondi, for nomination.
According to MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela, they are the best placed party to hold the presidency accountable because they are not part of the government of national unity (GNU).
“The creation of such a committee is intended to play a key role by holding the Presidency accountable before Parliament and to the people of South Africa.
“By its nature, it is only fitting that this Committee be chaired by a member of the MK Party, and not by a representative of the government of national unity, under which both the ANC, which was initially opposed to the establishment of this committee, and the DA fall,” he said.
Ndhlela expressed anger at Michalakis’s comments that the MK Party was not fit for this role.
“The DA’s attempt at delegitimising the MK Party at a moment when a committee is being constituted precisely to strengthen democratic oversight is unbecoming.”
The establishment of this committee comes at a time when the Presidency has been in the spotlight over a number of issues, including the Phala Phala matter, in which large amounts of foreign currency were found on Ramaphosa’s farm.
It also arises when the DA has laid multiple corruption charges against Mashatile.