Mashatile back to Parliament for questions in NCOP

Deputy President Paul Mashatile is due to answer questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday afternoon. It will be his first meeting with members of the upper house since being appointed last month.

Mashatile replaced David Mabuza who resigned to make way for him as the newly-elected ANC deputy president.

Questions to the Deputy President include what specific measures government will take to address the escalating debt of municipalities to Eskom and water entities.

There is also a question regarding the persistence of illegal electricity and water connections, theft, and vandalism of infrastructure.

He will also be asked to explain whether, as the new chairperson of the cabinet committee on Justice, Crime Prevention and Security, he will focus on the prosecution of high-profile cases in order to accelerate the country’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list.

The issue of the instability brought about by coalitions at the local government level is also on the list of issues members want him to address.