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MPs absent from parliamentary meetings, but some say they are overburdened

MPs absent from parliamentary meetings, but some say they are overburdened
Suné Payne
By Suné Payne
26 Jan 2025
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A parliamentary report has revealed that some MPs were routinely absent from committee meetings, with some members achieving only a 30% attendance rate in the first six months of the new parliamentary year.

As MPs return to Cape Town over the next few weeks for the opening of Parliament, some MPs will walk the red carpet despite recording low attendance rates in committee meetings – the engine rooms of Parliament – in the previous year. 

Fourteen of 44 committee meetings; five of 37 committee meetings; and 11 of 34 committee meetings – these are just some of the attendance rates of individual MPs for the first six months of the new parliamentary term in 2024. 

MPs earn a slew of benefits alongside their R1.2-million annual salary. As the Sunday Times unpacked in 2024, these MPs’ perks include top-of-the-range laptops and mobile devices as well as accommodation at parliamentary villages which cost R250 a month, and 88 free single air journeys in economy class per financial year on any domestic airline. These, of course, are all taxpayer-funded. 

Missing MPs


Between June and December 2024 – when the new crop of MPs was sworn in after the elections – a common feature emerged: missing Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) backbenchers.

IFP MP Sanele Zondo attended only 11 of 34 committee meetings, along with Nhlanala Hadebe who was at only 19 of 40 meetings. Another IFP MP, Siphosethu Ngcobo, attended only five of 37 committee meetings. The IFP, of course, is a party within the Government of National Unity. 

But absenteeism is not limited to the IFP: Thandiswa Marawu of the African Transformation Movement did not attend any of her 13 meetings. From the official opposition, the uMkhonto Wesizwe party, Mnqobi Msezane attended only 26 of 60 meetings and his colleague, the controversial Brian Molefe, attended 11 of 34 committee meetings. 

Daily Maverick has learnt that this issue of missing MPs – particularly those from the IFP – came up in the public works and infrastructure oversight committee. In November 2024, an audio recording (published via the Parliamentary Monitoring Group) indicates the committee secretary querying why IFP MPs were not showing up to meetings or workshops, and that this was something they would bring to the party’s attention. 

Contested


But these figures have been contested. Towards the end of 2024, a publication called The South Africa Brief released its figures on the MPs who had missed committee meetings. Some data released include chief whips and party parliamentary leaders – all of whom have different roles and responsibilities within parliamentary structures. 

Then some parties have either one or two seats in Parliament and have to juggle committee appearances. The publication said “heavier workloads may be partly responsible for the poor attendance”, although some MPs maintained an attendance record of more than 80% in more than 30 meetings. 

When Daily Maverick spoke to IFP MP Siphosethu Ngcobo about the issue, he linked it back to the fact that within the party, several IFP MPs were now within the national executive as ministers and deputy ministers – four to be exact – which had resulted in a situation where the remaining 13 MPs needed to fill the vacuum.

Also, there were committee meeting clashes. In Ngcobo’s case, public works meetings occur at the same time as basic education meetings. 

As a caucus, Ngcobo said, they would have to “sit down and look at how these can be averted”. Ngcobo – who also serves as the IFP’s secretary-general – told Daily Maverick there had also been a new adjustment period and he believed things would get better as people would find ways to adapt to the demands of juggling committee meetings. 

What he did not want to happen was for MPs to leave committee meetings midway to join other committee meetings halfway through and not be up to speed with what had been prepared. He also did not want MPs to rush to meetings to be there just “for the sake of writing in the attendance record … that is not what we want”. 

Overstretched


Another example is that of Sakiena Frenchman from the National Coloured Congress (NCC), another two-seat party. She attended only 14 of 44 meetings. 

Party president Fadiel Adams said they were a two-seat party that tried to cover all portfolios. 

“So she is listed for four portfolios and those meetings clash most of the time, so the attendance record is because you simply can’t be in two places at the same time,” he said. 

Adams told Daily Maverick that Frenchman’s attendance in the human settlements oversight committee was 100%, as this was her main committee.

“So if anybody wants to say that Honourable Frenchman is not fulfilling their duties, they’re wide of the mark,” he said. 

Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo told Daily Maverick that “the performance and participation of MPs in committee work are overseen by their respective party whips. If an MP consistently misses meetings without valid reasons, this may be addressed internally by their political party, which has its own mechanisms to enforce accountability and discipline.” 

Mothapo added that “committee attendance is monitored and recorded by committee secretaries who maintain detailed attendance registers for every meeting. If an MP is absent, the reasons for their absence must be communicated and recorded. MPs are also required to submit written apologies for meetings they are unable to attend.”

Mothapo concluded: “It is important to note that an MP missing several committee meetings is not always indicative of negligence. MPs often have overlapping responsibilities, including constituency work, participating in other committees or representing Parliament in delegations locally and internationally.” DM

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