DA gives 6th Parliament the thumbs down, blasts Ramaphosa

As Parliament wraps up its 2023 calendar ahead of next year’s elections, the Democratic Alliance (DA) delivered a scathing review of South Africa’s 6th Parliament

DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube looked back on the official opposition’s year in both Houses of Parliament.

Watch DA leader John Steenhuisen speaking about ministers’ evaluations

📺 | “When each of these ministers fails to do their duty, South Africans bear the consequences. The DA is not here to play games; we're here to rescue South Africa, which is why we're demanding that President Ramaphosa release his cabinet performance evaluation.” – @jsteenhuisen pic.twitter.com/mmXdTTypej

— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) December 5, 2023

Post Zuma

Gwarube  said 2023 has been the “most challenging yet in the country’s democratic dispensation”.

“In a post-Zuma world, where the intricate machinery of state capture was dismantled and laid bare for all to see in the Zondo Commission and its report, it was parliament itself that was also implicated as an enabler of rampant corruption under the ANC – the ramifications of which have made the work of parliamentary reform a crucial item in this term.”

Gwarube said the executive abused its powers and evaded parliamentary scrutiny during the lockdown.

“As a result, the lockdown gave unfettered powers to President Ramaphosa and his cabinet, many of which were abused and exploited for political gain.”

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Ramaphosa blasted

Gwarube lambasted Ramaphosa.

“But perhaps the biggest failure of the 6th parliament was the sub-optimal performance of the national executive under President Ramaphosa, who himself, evaded parliament and treated it in much the same way as his predecessor.

“For all his promise of reform, President Ramaphosa did not table one single piece of legislation at parliament to grow our economy, solve South Africa’s electricity crisis, put more food on our tables, or give hope to the millions more who have joined the unemployment queue over the last five years,” Gwarube said.

“South Africa’s 6th Parliament has been the most challenging yet in our country’s democratic dispensation.” – @Siviwe_G#PowerToTheRegistered #RescueSA pic.twitter.com/QwG6oUymeS

— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) December 5, 2023

Gwarube also said it was disingenuous of Ramaphosa to claim that making public the performance assessments of his cabinet ministers would embarrass them.

“It is in the interests of democracy, transparency, and accountability as outlined in the Constitution, that parliament and the people know how their government has performed.

As a result, the DA will be submitting a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application, to each ministry of the national executive, to obtain the full performance assessment of each of South Africa’s national ministers,” he said.

Lady R

Gwarube also touched on the docking of the Russian Lady R cargo ship in Simon’s Town Naval Base in 2022 which became the subject of controversy with allegations surfacing that South Africa was supplying weapons to Russia amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war

The release of the “executive summary” of the findings of an investigative panel appointed by Ramaphosa into the controversial docking of Lady R raised more questions than answers.

“The ANC government continues to toy with South Africa’s future with its cozy relationship with Russia. It is because of this relationship that had the United States of America considering throwing South Africa out of the AGOA trade agreement, which would have been devastating to the economy of South Africa,” Gwarube said.

Parliament fire

He also said Parliament will not be able to properly function until it is rebuilt after the devastating fire despite the fire occurring almost two years ago.

“We have still yet to find out what the real reason for the fire was.”

Gwarube said Public Works and Infrastructure department has been equally slow in ensuring that the hallowed chambers are rebuilt as quickly as possible.

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