Disrespectful energy department ‘boycotts’ Parly’s fuel price meeting

MPs were shocked at the blatant disrespect displayed by the government’s failure to attend a meeting about the fuel price.

Parliament’s energy committee was supposed to have been briefed on the fuel price increase on Tuesday morning after the committee became concerned with the impact the rising prices have had on citizens.

“There are many views why the fuel price is increasing and we wanted the energy department to clarify how the basic price is set,” said committee chairperson Fikile Majola.

The irate chairperson told City Press that neither he nor the committee had experienced such a level of disrespect from department officials during this parliamentary term and that they were all shocked to be seated in front of empty chairs.

During the meeting Majola called the utter disrespect and no-show from energy minister Jeff Radebe’s charges a “boycott”.

“We are an independent arm of the state. They must report to Parliament. They can’t stage a boycott of the meeting,” he said.

The Democratic Alliance agreed with the governing party’s representative and committee chairperson, saying that Majola was “was quite correct to castigate the minister, the deputy minister and the department for what he referred to as a boycott”.

Gavin Davis, the DA MP who was present at the meeting, called for Radebe to be summoned and for the committee to write to the speaker of Parliament to express their displeasure.

Majola said that he would write to Radebe telling him that his presence was required next week, but stressed that this was not a summons.

“We will write to the minister to insist that he and the department be here next week, Tuesday, at 10am. If not here, we will have a big problem.”

Majola said that he did not wish to speculate what would happen if no one pitched up on Tuesday, saying that the committee would collectively decide what to do.

Davis said that the no-show “is an indication that government simply has no plan to deal with the fuel price”.

Radebe, who posted on Twitter that he was in Windhoek in Namibia at a SADC summit, was also singled out for continually delaying to meet the committee.

Energy department not playing ball

“The committee noted that on several occasions the meeting with the minister had to be moved to accommodate his availability. The chairperson said that the committee will not tolerate this behaviour,” a statement from the committee read.

Majola told City Press that a notice for this meeting was sent two weeks ago and that the first instance of acknowledgment from the department was on August 6. It informed him that the minster was not able to attend because he had prior government commitments and would be out of the country.

The department then asked if they should still appear, to which he said yes.

On Women’s Day the department sent a note asking him to postpone the meeting because Radebe wanted to address the committee himself.

He told them no, because of time constraints and the pressing nature of the fuel prices.

Although he accepted that the minister would not be there, “the director-general or the deputy minister can come, if she’s available”.

Then on Monday the department again requested a postponement to which Majola replied: “No, it is impossible to postpone this meeting at this stage and that the meeting is going ahead tomorrow and we know the minister will not be there.”

But the committee was expecting someone from the department to be there.

Asked if anyone from the department had contacted him or apologised for not arriving, Majola emphatically said: “No, no, nothing at all. Nobody has spoken to me.”

After numerous calls to various energy department officials, two emails and one wrong number, City Press got hold of two staff members who said that they could not comment because they were “just communicators”.