The absence of a parliamentary oversight committee to monitor the performance and spending of the Presidency dominated the debate on the Presidency's budget vote in the National Assembly this week, as opposition parties called for a portfolio committee on the Presidency to be established to ensure accountability and transparency.
The first political party to table this proposal was the official opposition, uMkhonto weSizwe, through its parliamentary leader Dr John Hlophe, who called the current situation a serious gap in parliamentary oversight. "We want a committee to oversee the Presidency to ensure that everything is accounted for properly and that everything is according to the book.
Dr Hlophe further pointed out that with the dissolution of the Department of Public Enterprises, the governance of SOEs will now fall under the Presidency, which will mean that they will no longer be accountable to Parliament. "The President only answers to Parliament during quarterly question and answer sessions, which are often marred by bias and lack of transparency," Dr Hlophe observed.
"The question is can we trust President Ramaphosa to manage these companies without parliamentary oversight, accountability is very important. The President is not expected to account to Parliament in the same way that ministers account. He also cannot be summoned by the portfolio committees in the same way that ministers can. We must establish a portfolio committee on the Presidency," Dr Hlophe said.
Dr Corne Mulder of the Freedom Front Plus also raised the matter of the absence of an oversight committee on the Presidency. "This matter will not go away; it was raised by the Zondo commission and one of the recommendations was that Parliament should consider whether it is desirable to establish a committee to oversee functions of the Presidency, which are not overseen by other committees.
"What we need is not a normal portfolio committee. We need a unique home-grown mechanism. The purpose will not be to settle personal scores or for attacks on the President as an individual but to ensure accountability," Dr Mulder said.
Action SA Leader Mr Athol Trollip also weighed in on the subject, arguing that the question-and-answer sessions in Parliament are not enough to hold the President accountable. "We need a dedicated committee to oversee the Presidency. We have such committees across the provinces [to oversee premiers' offices]. Why not here? Why is the Presidency so averse to direct inclusive oversight?" Mr Trollip asked.
"Is it because the office has become a super-bloated department with multiple ministers and deputy ministers or is it because you do not want to account to this house?" he queried.
The African Christian Democratic Party also expressed concern over the centralisation of SOEs under the Presidency. "While most were subjected to looting and maladministration during state capture, the ACDP is not convinced that a presidential SOE council to establish a state holding company is the panacea to providing effective oversight of SOEs. The key consideration is the lack of monitoring and oversight on the Presidency itself. This is not an act of good governance but one open to exploitation, which the ACDP cannot support," said Mr Wayne Thring.
Mr Nqabayomzi Kwankwa of the United Democratic Movement also supported the proposal: "The UDM does agree that we need to establish a portfolio committee on the Presidency so that the DG in that office can come to Parliament at regular intervals to account about performance and organisational issues that relate to the Presidency and administrative issues," Mr Kwankwa said.
Rise Mzansi leader Mr Songezo Zibi said the absence of oversight on the Presidency should not be allowed to continue in the seventh Parliament. "Over the years, the size and scope of the Presidency has expanded significantly, and the growth of the office and its work is not being matched by efforts to ensure that the many issues that previously fell under ministries that are subjected to parliamentary oversight continue to be so," Mr Zibi said.
"This situation should not be allowed to continue. At the heart of South Africans unhappiness about democracy is the sense that government leaders are not accountable. There is no one more obligated to set an example than you, Mr President," Mr Zibi reminded the President.
Debating in support of the budget vote, the Chief Whip of the African National Congress Mr Mdumiseni Ntuli, said the Presidency must be adequately resourced to be able to conduct its role of strengthening policy coordination and implementation and of serving as a nexus for cohesive social and economic development.
"As the seventh administration looks to and beyond 2030, it is tasked with formulating a vision that continues to drive progress and address emerging challenges. The National Planning Commission must be empowered and adequately resourced to support this long-term vision, ensuring that policies are not only well conceived but effectively implemented," said Mr Ntuli.
Debating on behalf of the Democratic Alliance, Ms Samantha Graham - the Deputy Minister of Energy and Electricity in the government of national unity - welcomed the moving of the Ministry of Electricity out of the Presidency but had mixed feelings about housing SOEs in the Office of the President.
"The DA welcomes moving the electricity ministry out of the Presidency, and we are hopeful this new department will combine the political, statutory and policy mandate of the sector with the momentum built up through the Presidency to create a stable energy supply for South Africa," Ms Graham said.
"While moving electricity out of the Presidency, he has moved SOEs in, and the implication of this is that Eskom now resides in the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and not within the Department of Energy and Electricity.
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"Initial indications were that Eskom will move into this new department so that executives entrusted with the function of energy and electricity will have direct oversight over the entity. It makes absolute sense that the organisation responsible for electricity be housed within that department," she said.
Ms Graham also dismissed plans to establish a state holding company to manage SOEs and said this will create an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and the cost implications will be astronomical and unjustifiable.
The leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Mr Julius Malema, said his party rejected the Presidency budget vote and he labelled it a "waste of government resources". "A lot of money is spent on useless things instead of redirecting those funds to projects that are beneficial to the people of South Africa. We do not understand why you placed intelligence in your office instead of taking the water crisis and making it a presidential responsibility," he said.
Why is crime fighting not in the Presidency?" Mr Malema asked. "Crime is a serious problem - women are raped, children killed. Those are matters that the President should be occupied with and be worried about.
"Let us reduce the Cabinet and do away with deputy ministers. They don't have a role; unnecessary and a lot of money is put in the offices of DMs. We can redirect the money to where it is needed," said Mr Malema.
