The National Assembly has approved new rules establishing a committee on the presidency, a move that subjects its budget to full parliamentary scrutiny.
Known as Budget Vote 1, the presidency’s annual allocation in the national budget has until now been the only vote passed without committee processing.
The new rules, approved on Tuesday, provide that the director-general in the presidency, as accounting officer, will report directly to parliament, while the president and deputy president must appear before the committee once a year on policy matters of national importance.
The committee is also empowered to investigate any matter referred by the speaker or by resolution of the House.
The DA, which reintroduced the matter in October 2024, described the adoption as an important advance in parliamentary oversight, aligning with recommendations of the Zondo commission on state capture.
— George Michalakis, DA chief whip
George Michalakis, the party’s chief whip, said the decision closes a constitutional gap by ensuring that the presidency, like all other executive organs of state, is subject to committee oversight under section 55 of the constitution.
“This is a major step forward in strengthening parliament’s oversight role and was a key recommendation in the Zondo commission on state capture,” Michalakis said.
The DA’s submission further emphasises that motions of censure or breaches of oath by the president or deputy president may now be referred to the committee for investigation before being debated in the House.
In its October 2025 submission, the ANC supported the establishment of a portfolio committee on the presidency focused on Vote 1, with an executive member assigned by the president to account.
It proposed that the president or deputy president appear annually to respond to policy matters, in line with existing rules on oral questions. The ANC stressed the distinction between the accountability of the presidency as a department and the accountability of the president as head of state, cautioning against duplication of mechanisms.
The EFF, in its June submission, argued for a joint standing committee to oversee the presidency, citing the growing concentration of functions in the president’s office, including state-owned enterprises, advisory councils, and commissions. It described the absence of a standing oversight mechanism as a “travesty of justice” and pressed for comprehensive scrutiny of the presidency’s expanded role.
The rules package also introduces two procedural reforms: rebuttal oral questions during weekly question sessions, intended to strengthen ministerial accountability, and the re-establishment of a petitions committee, dormant since the Constitutional Court’s Oriani-Ambrosini judgment in 2012.
That case confirmed the right of individual MPs to introduce bills under section 73 of the constitution, underscoring the need for accessible mechanisms for public participation. The petitions committee’s revival restores a dedicated channel for citizens to submit grievances or proposals directly to parliament, giving effect to section 59 of the constitution.
What the House adopted this week goes beyond earlier proposals to assign functions to existing committees.
The committee on the presidency has its own mandate: to scrutinise Vote 1, call the director-general to account, require annual appearances by the president and deputy president, and investigate matters referred by the speaker or the House. It may also consult with executive organs of state and constitutional institutions, and consider motions of censure or breaches of oath before referral to the House.
The political consequence is that the presidency, which has steadily consolidated functions including co-ordination of state-owned enterprises and advisory councils, will now face structured committee oversight.
The legal consequence is the fulfilment of parliament’s constitutional duty to maintain oversight of all executive organs of state. Administratively, the change brings the presidency’s budget into line with established committee processes, ensuring hearings, evidence gathering and reporting.
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