DEAR Editor,-
Between January and November 2016, the DA’s 10-member caucus in the KZN Legislature submitted 100 percent of all oversight parliamentary questions to the premier and provincial MECs. No other party submitted a single question. In other words, not one member from any other opposition party put a single question to the premier and his MECs.
These figures are revealing. They show that other opposition parties have abdicated this responsibility. More alarmingly, the KZN speaker’s own party, the ANC, has stopped exercising any public oversight of their own MECs. This is a shocking development and speaks to the total collapse of the practice of good governance across all spheres of the Zuma-led ANC.
According to legislature records, the DA submitted 199 questions between January and November this year. Of concern is that many replies are delayed by weeks or months and, increasingly, the quality of replies is very superficial.
Most of the DA’s questions were focused on particular budget items or problem areas of service delivery within the competence of a department. The questions covered every MEC’s portfolio with Cooperative Governance (19) and Education (18) receiving the most attention. The Office of the Premier, Health and Transport received 11 questions each indicating that the focus is geared to departments with the biggest budgets or the biggest responsibilities.
Some of the most useful questions were those seeking information across all departments – transversal questions. Examples of these are the numbers of disabled persons employed in senior management positions, the costs for each departmental budget presentation and the cost of private vehicles for each of the MECs.
Unlike the National Assembly, which has twin priorities of passing new laws and holding the executive accountable, provincial legislatures have as their primary responsibility the oversight of provincial departments and their budgets. The success or failure of the Speaker of the KZN Legislature is totally dependent on whether the institution strengthens or inhibits this vital oversight function.
These figures show that the DA is the only party fulfilling its mandate within the KZN Legislature. They show that the DA is working hard to expose corruption and inefficiency at every level within the province. And they show that the DA is committed to a ensuring a brighter future for the people of KZN.
MARK STEELE, MPL
Chief Whip to the DA, KZN
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