Parliament’s presiding officers had a “constructive”, “cordial” and “respectful”, meeting with Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, who last week criticised MPs for their lack of action in dealing with state capture.
Zondo, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo met on Wednesday and agreed on their willingness to co-operate and “uphold institutions that underpin our society”, Mapisa-Nqakula said on Thursday.
The meeting was held after Zondo told a colloquium organised by the Human Sciences Research Council last week that parliament had still not implemented the recommendations in his report on state capture, which meant it would fail to prevent a repeat.
“I have said before that if another group of people were to do what the Guptas did, parliament would still not be able to stop it,” Zondo said. “I’ve seen nothing that has changed”. Parliament issued a rebuke shortly afterwards, saying his comments were “unfortunate” and “inappropriate”.
Mapisa-Nqakula on Thursday said all parties “acknowledged mutually reinforcing nature of the legislature and judiciary.” Mapisa-Nqakula said she and Masondo “took the opportunity to clarify that the perception that parliament was not implementing recommendations ... is far from the truth.” The presiding officers “commend the constructive meeting with [the chief justice]” and “expressed our gratitude for the frank discussions had,” she added.
Mapisa-Nqakula outlined four areas of focus as detailed in Zondo’s report: parliamentary oversight and accountability; overseeing the executive; monitoring parliament’s own implementation plan; and parliamentary electoral reforms to strengthen its constitutional mandate.
The national assembly was implementing 19 recommendations; 11 had been completed and a further eight were under way, she said.
Parliament has started recruiting for various advisory roles, hiring legal and other advisers to strengthen its capacity, Mapisa-Nqakula added. However, various committees had noted that the issue wasn’t about creating new laws, but correcting or facilitating implementation of existing legislation.
For example, the commission has recommended legislative amendments pertaining to intelligence services accountability, but the legislature found the existing law addressed these concerns and no amendments to current legislation was necessary, she said.
Masondo said the “dominant factor” in the meeting with Zondo was the “need to find one another”.
One of the commissions’ recommendations pertains to oversight of the executive. In response, parliament has indicated it will conduct a “study tour” of the UK, whose parliament has a sub-committee focused on holding its prime minister accountable.
Mapisa-Nqakula responded to criticism of the “huge cost” to taxpayers involved, saying “we’ve never had this experience” and that parliament needed to “look at what is being done elsewhere” to avoid conflict and further waste.
Xolile George, parliament’s secretary, confirmed that when parliament was investigating the implementation of Zondo’s recommendation, it had to look at best practice elsewhere.
Mapisa-Nqakula explained the meeting with Zondo was not to demand an apology or silence him, but to “identify issues” and find solutions.
Other politicians also weighed in on Zondo’s comments. Build One SA leader Mmusi Maimane agreed with Zondo saying: “The chief justice is right to say parliament is failing to protect the country from corruption.”
However, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said: “Judges are not demigods ... We must respect the separation of powers because he has done what he was supposed to do. He is finished [with his task as head of the commission.”
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