Political analyst Ralph Mathekga says Parliament is completely failing to effectively play its oversight role.
He says Members of Parliament are selected by parties, they will continue to believe they are answerable to the parties rather than the electorate.
Mathekga says the current system of selecting MPs makes it practically impossible for them to live up to their task of holding the executive accountable.
“The whole idea that one is accountable to the party and not accountable to the people is quite a concern and it shows a very strange understanding of accountability. So, Parliament has been a very weak link in the entire process of accountability in the last few years in South Africa. Parliament has failed dismally,” adds Mathekga.
The videos below are interviews with Mathekga and Paul Hoffman, Director of Accountability:
Last week, the State Capture Commission chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo expressed outrage at revelations that four ANC MPs who voted with their conscience were told that they would be disciplined by the party’s top leadership.
Zondo was responding to the testimony from Makhosi Khoza who was ejected from her position as Chairperson of the Public Service Portfolio Committee.
Commission hears Parliamentary Oversight related evidence from Makhosi Khoza:
