National Assembly Adopts Rules to Strengthen Oversight, Including a New Committee on the Presidency

The National Assembly yesterday moved to strengthen executive oversight by adopting several amendments to the Rules of the National Assembly, including the establishment of a Committee on the Presidency.

By giving the green light to this committee, the NA will, for the first time, have a dedicated, rule-based structure for scrutinising the Presidency’s operations and budget.

The decision to establish the committee follows extensive research and several calls for such a committee, given the Presidency’s overarching role in government. The issue got traction in the Sixth Parliament, when the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) was tasked with conducting preliminary research on oversight mechanisms for the office of the Head of State and Government. The PBO’s findings confirmed that Vote 1 (The Presidency) is subject to the same oversight obligations and prescripts as any other budget vote. In April 2023, the Rules Committee undertook an international study tour to engage other parliamentary systems on how they oversee the operations of the executive centre.

Drawing from this groundwork, the matter resurfaced in the Seventh Parliament. On 31 October 2024, the Rules Committee endorsed the principle that the Assembly should establish a Committee on the Presidency and mandated its Subcommittee on the Review of Assembly Rules to draft the technical amendments needed to give effect to this decision. After considering the Subcommittee’s report of 13 November this year, the Rules Committee agreed that the Assembly should adopt these rule amendments.

Yesterday, the NA adopted the report proposing rules for the establishment of a Committee on the Presidency and to note the proposed composition of this committee. The committee on the Presidency would comprise eleven members, with four members from the ANC, two from the DA, one from the MKP, one from the EFF, and three members from the smaller parties.

Other proposed amendments in the report that were agreed to include amendments to the NA’s questions procedure, which may promote greater responsiveness and executive accountability during question sessions. Oral question time will now include features of interpellations, which provide Members an opportunity to delve deeper with follow-up questions. The time for questions will be increased by 30 minutes.

In adopting the report, the NA has also agreed to the proposed composition of the Committee on Government Undertakings and Petitions. Parliament previously recognised that its existing mechanisms did not sufficiently track undertakings made by Ministers during debates and question sessions, nor did they always ensure timely and effective processing of public petitions. To address these shortcomings, the NA previously established a dedicated committee in terms of Rule 252B. The Rules Committee has now agreed that this committee, like the committee on the Presidency, will consist of eleven members, with the same proportional breakdown: four from the ANC, two from the DA, one from the MKP, one from the EFF and three representing the smaller parties.

Following the NA’s adoption of the report, these rules can now be implemented.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.