Speaker Thandi Modise tackles parliamentary gripes and criticism of her apology at Zondo commission

“When we go talk about the budget of Parliament, we talk with people who do not understand Parliament. We talk to directors-general who think we are just another department.” 

National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise did not mince her words. Perhaps it was time for Parliament to say to those who think they hold the purse strings that, “until you listen to us, we will not pass your budget”. That is one of Parliament’s hard-fought-for powers, which to date the national legislature has not exercised. 

“It [Parliament] holds the purse because it directly represents the people in the streets.” 

Parliament’s budget is just over R2.6-billion. That’s a cut of R256-million from the previous year, with further cuts of R338-million planned for the 2022/23 financial year and R296-million in the 2023/24 financial year. 

To assist cost-cutting, Parliament wants provincial legislatures to pick up the tab of providing former MPLs – members of provincial legislatures – with their Parmed benefits. In a curious arrangement, even though MPLs have never worked for Parliament, it’s the national legislature that pays their medical aid benefits.

Parliament also is in discussion with former MPs, including ministers, over their benefits, including flights for them and their spouses, which come to Parliament’s account. 

Crucially, Parliament wants to ditch having to administer funding support for constituency offices that political parties represented in Parliament run. Instead, such funding should go straight to political parties, which then account directly to National Treasury, said Modise. 

Her comments came as the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), in a statement on Tuesday, raised exactly this point. 

“We have exhausted nearly all channels available to us to get basic information from all political parties represented in Parliament about their constituency offices,” said Outa parliamentary liaison Chris Scholtz in a statement on Tuesday about the R375-million made available for funding constituency offices.  

“These offices ostensibly translate community struggles into items on the parliamentary agenda, but is it really happening? Unfortunately, we don’t really know.” 

Political parties get their constituency allocations in four tranches every year, on receipt of audited financial statements. This long-established process does not account for the impact, or lack thereof, of constituency work on Parliament. 

Down the corridor in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), money and resources ran through chairperson Amos Masondo’s speech as the council also debated Parliament’s budget, albeit separately, on Tuesday. 

This included voluntary retirement at age 55, for which about a quarter of Parliament staff, or 375, will qualify at a cost of R265-million – although half of those posts would be filled with young workers at entry-level salaries. It’s a prickly proposal, as Parliament and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) have for months now faced off over bonus payments. 

Masondo indicated that relocating Parliament from Cape Town as per the 2015 proposal by then president Jacob Zuma was off the table now. “I hope that members will understand that this is a debate we do not want to entertain under the current economic climate.” 

In the National Assembly, EFF MP Veronica Mente also raised relocation. Not moving Parliament to a more central location was “irrational” and would not help public participation.

“[Parliamentary] committees that behave like they’ve been appointed by ministers are also problematic,” she added. 

Stop with the sweetheart questions. You are not doing any favours to anyone in South Africa. How can a minister or deputy minister stand here and answer a follow-up question from a script? How can you give them the answers?