From lamentable to laudable: charting a new course for parliamentary oversight in South Africa

Members of Parliament (MPs) have a tough time trying to hold the executive – the Cabinet ministers – to account. Not only are they swamped in paperwork and do not have enough staff or funds, but they must deal with ministers who aren’t interested in attending portfolio committee meetings and fail to get the legally required paperwork in on time.

During 2023/24, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy held 36 meetings as part of its work to watch over the minister and his department. The then Minister Gwede Mantashe or his deputy turned up to only four of those meetings, an 11% attendance rate. In 2020/21, that same minister attended only two of the 41 meetings.

Over the past year, the then minister of Public Enterprises, the late Pravin Gordhan, and then Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga, replied after the parliamentary deadline to more than 90% of the parliamentary questions that MPs asked them.

The Central Energy Fund, the Passenger Rail Agency, the Road Accident Fund and the Road Traffic Infringement Agency were among entities that submitted their annual reports late (it was the fourth year the agency’s report was late), which meant MPs had less time to read and assess the reports and question the entities, department or minister on them.

At the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), we think that these may be deliberate attempts to avoid accountability.

Those meetings, reports and parliamentary replies are crucial tools for MPs who are genuinely trying to conduct oversight on behalf of the public. This is their constitutionally mandated job: choose a president, provide a national forum for public consideration of issues, pass legislation, and scrutinise and oversee executive action.

This week we publish Outa’s sixth annual parliamentary oversight report, Lamentable or laudable? The 6th Parliament’s legacy, which looks at how well our National Assembly held ministers to account.

The short answer is: not very well. We found Parliament overall to be lamentable. Our MPs are letting us down.

We found that the portfolio committees struggle to hold the executive to account. Parliament has no real method of holding inept or dysfunctional ministers to account, and thus fails to do so.

As the 7th Parliament, elected in May, settles into work, the time has come for a decisive shift in how our elected representatives approach governance, oversight and accountability. Our report lays out a path forward that our new MPs cannot afford to ignore.

The challenges of the 6th Parliament, which ran from 2019 to May this year, were monumental. It presided over a period of national upheaval – navigating the Covid-19 pandemic, economic fallout, the widespread collapse of service delivery, and the devastating effects of State Capture.

Yet while some progress was made, systemic corruption, mismanagement, and entrenched inefficiencies continued to hamper Parliament’s ability to truly hold the executive accountable.

The State Capture revelations laid bare the extent of corruption, but Parliament’s response was often fragmented, with certain committees reluctant to tackle the real depth of the problem. Despite oversight bodies like portfolio committees working hard to fulfil their mandates, they were frequently stymied by budget constraints, limited resources, and poor departmental cooperation.

Now, as the 7th Parliament takes office, there is a unique opportunity to build on these lessons and steer South Africa towards a more transparent, accountable, and effective governance system. The Government of National Unity (GNU) is hopefully setting a new tone by establishing a platform for collaboration. We caution, however, that its long-term effectiveness remains to be seen.

For our new MPs, the road ahead is clear: without robust reforms, we risk repeating the mistakes of the past.

Seizing the opportunity: reforms for the 7th Parliament

One of our key recommendations is for Parliament to strengthen parliamentary oversight by providing portfolio committees with the resources and support they need to carry out their duties effectively.

This must include better training for MPs, enhanced strategic planning, and increased financial support for oversight visits and public hearings. Committees must be empowered to dig deeper, particularly when it comes to financial mismanagement and poor service delivery in departments and state-owned enterprises.

Parliament must also adopt a more proactive – and possibly multi-committee – approach to addressing the enduring failures of governance in key sectors. Water, electricity, sanitation and public transport infrastructure have collapsed under the weight of mismanagement and corruption. As the public, we want to see the responsible ministers, departments and entities held accountable.

Parliament must develop systems to track long-term infrastructure spending and enforce consequences for wasteful expenditure. This could be an innovative solution to one of our nation’s most pressing problems: mismanaged and poorly monitored long-term projects.

In particular, the issue of state-owned enterprises, which have been a major source of financial drain and inefficiency, demands urgent attention. With billions of rand allocated to bailouts for entities like Eskom, Parliament has a responsibility to ensure that these funds are used effectively.

Public participation and civil society engagement

One of the most striking findings of Outa’s report is the continued marginalisation of civil society and public participation in the parliamentary process.

In a democracy as young and fragile as ours, the voices of ordinary citizens must play a central role in shaping legislation and governance. Unfortunately, the 6th Parliament too often sidelined public input, ignoring expert input and rushing through flawed bills without sufficiently engaging those most affected by them.

The 7th Parliament must break from this trend. Outa recommends that Parliament embrace digital tools and platforms to expand its reach and make public participation more accessible. Virtual public hearings, surveys, and online consultations can lower the cost of engagement while bringing more South Africans into the legislative process.

By doing so, Parliament can build a stronger, more inclusive dialogue with the public, ensuring that the laws and policies it enacts are truly reflective of the people’s needs.

A call for accountability

Ultimately, the success of the 7th Parliament will hinge on its ability to enforce accountability.

Outa’s report underscores the need for Parliament to take a hard stance on corruption, particularly as it relates to the implementation of the State Capture commission’s recommendations. With the executive overseeing R2.136-trillion in national spending for 2024/25, the stakes could not be higher.

The public expects responsible accounting for these funds, and Parliament must demand it.

One of the most alarming insights from the report is the continued presence of MPs and ministers implicated in State Capture within Parliament itself. The 7th Parliament must draw a firm line between political loyalty and the demands of justice. It cannot afford to remain a refuge for those seeking to evade accountability for their actions.

The 6th Parliament may have left behind a legacy of missed opportunities, but the 7th has the chance to turn the tide. By strengthening oversight, prioritising public participation, and enforcing real accountability, our new MPs can help restore public trust in our democratic institutions.

Two weeks into October, we see too many departments and entities missing the legal deadline of 30 September for the submission of their annual reports, a crucial oversight tool. We will watch how the 7th Parliament’s portfolio committees will deal with this obstruction to oversight.

The task ahead is difficult, but with political will and a commitment to real change, the 7th Parliament can — and must — rise to the occasion.