Parliament’s Joint Ethics and Members Interest Committee has come under criticism in the National Assembly’s Programming Committee.
The committee has not been able to meet regularly to finalise most of the complaints against Members of Parliament (MPs) who have breached the Code of Ethics.
Some of the outstanding complaints include those submitted by Democratic Alliance Chief Whip, John Steenhuisen in 2016.
The weaknesses of the Joint Committee will be reflected in the Legacy report of the 5th Parliament.
African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip and member of the Programme Committee, Jackson Mthembu raised his concerns after Steenhuisen expressed unhappiness about his outstanding complaints.
“I think the difficulty that we have had with that committee, and it is something that the Rules Committee will have to reflect on, is the inability to meet. So it is something that we will have to reflect on as we establish that committee in the sixth parliament.”
“It has been unable to meet regularly, again because it is a joint committee – when others are available of the National Assembly, the portion of the NCOP (National Council of Provinces) will be busy with other work in the province, so it is something that we will have to look at holistically, because that has indeed hampered the work of this committee,” He adds.
