The establishment of the portfolio committee that will play an oversight role on the President is one of the matters under serious consideration by the new Parliament.
On Thursday, parties were in agreement on the establishment of the committee.
Briefing the institution’s rules committee, National Assembly Secretary Masibulele Xaso said the rules made provision for five standing committees that included, finance, appropriations, public accounts, auditor general and powers and privileges.
“They are provided for in terms of the law,” Xaso said.
He also said following the constituting of the Cabinet, there were now 32 ministries. “We are proposing that these 30 portfolio committees be established and they are in line with ministries that have been created,” he said.
The last Parliament had 27 portfolio committees, but the number increased due to some ministries being separated from various portfolios.
The list of committees excluded six joint committees that are not linked to a specific House.
Xaso told the MPs that during the previous Parliament there was a call for a portfolio committee to be established to deal with the Presidency and the recommendation was that the Portfolio Committee on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation should take that role.
MK Party chief whip Sihle Ngubane said the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation committee was already overstretched.
“The proposal is that there must be a portfolio committee.
“This is specifically to deal with issues of the Presidency,” Ngubane said.
ACDP chief whip Steve Swart said he supported the committee on the Presidency as it was raised in the last Parliament and at the Zondo Commission.
“It is important that the director-general (DG) of the Presidency accounts to a specific portfolio committee,” Swart said.
EFF MP Natasha Ntlangwini said there was need to look into the establishment such a committee as the budget of the Presidency was bloated and that entities were added to it.
“If we are not to have effective oversight in terms of that portfolio, we may never know or trace all entities that report to him. The DG must come and account to Parliament. There must be some form of accountability for the Presidency,” Ntlangwini said.
Freedom Front Plus MP Corne Mulder said it was important to look into the principle of setting up such a committee considering it had been discussed since 1994.
“We should look at the principle and see if we can't make a provision for that.
I will support that,” Mulder said. ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli said he did not have strong objections to the proposal, but it would help if the MPs could make references to past experiences.
“I would have thought the best way to make a decision if members with experience would also explain what were the limitations of having the Presidency accounting to the existing mechanism of planning, monitoring and evaluation portfolio committee,” Ntuli said.
IFP MP Zandile Majozi suggested that the matter be referred to the rules sub-committee so that it can report back with a proposal.
EFF MP Veronica Mente said Ramaphosa took some functions of the disbanded Public Enterprises Department, knowing there was one DG.
Cape Times