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A comparison research analysis of ministerial attendance in committee meetings for the first six months of 2017 and 2018 has revealed a 9.7% increase in executive attendance for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet. But which ministers are leading the charge in terms of attending committees? And who’s slacking big time?
The Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) on Monday released its findings after conducting the comparison based researched on committee attendance between former president Jacob Zuma’s Cabinet and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet for the first six months of 2017 and 2018.
Both these periods were characterised by major shake-ups: the “midnight reshuffle” in March 2017 under Zuma and President Ramaphosa’s Cabinet announcement in February 2018.
The comparison shows a 9.7% increase in executive attendance in 2018 with the PMG attributing the increase in attendance of Cabinet members to “the assertion of the oversight role of parliamentary committees, and the pressure on ministers to attend key committee meetings” as the reasons for the surge in attendance.
Water and Sanitation Minister Gugile Nkwinti leads the pack with 10 appearances within the six-month period followed by Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana with eight.
Police Minister Bheki Cele seems to have found time from his busy schedule of combating crime as he sits third on the list tied with Social Development Minister Susan Shabangu.
Rural Development Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane rounds off the top five attendees with five appearances within the six-month period.
National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete earlier this year indicated that she had written to newly appointed Deputy President David Mabuza to complain about the absence of ministers during question time in the National Assembly.
The deputy president responded in April by announcing measures to deal with non-attendance, which included the implementation of an attendance roster and three ministers appointed to monitor their contemporaries.
PMG also revealed that a 2014 joint rules committee decision required “House attendance to be published once a year, but four years on, Parliament still has not once achieved this”.
MPs absenteeism has been highlighted this year by the furore caused by the lack of appearances by then social development minister, Bathabile Dlamini and her home affairs counterpart, Malusi Gigaba during parliamentary committees’ efforts to get clarity on the Social Security Agency debacle and the Gupta family naturalisation saga.
Of the 11 ministers and deputies with no recorded appearances, the research revealed that six of them were relieved of their duties on February 15 and one was a new appointee, the Minister in the Presidency, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who is yet to make an appearance this year (although her portfolio does not have an oversight committee).
Current deputies that have been no-shows are Kebby Maphatsoe (defence), Gratitude Magwanishe (trade and industry), Veronica Msibi (science and technology), and Elizabeth Thabete (tourism).
