ANC MP Doris Mpapane at the SONA in February. She is the chairperson of a newly established parliamentary committee.

• A newly established parliamentary committee will look into all the tasks, teams and councils within the Presidency.
• The committee will scrutinise the Presidency’s budget, policies and the impact of councils, task teams and advisory bodies.
• Chairperson Doris Mpapane emphasised the need for robust oversight to address duplication, costs and measurable outcomes in the Presidency’s operations.

What are all those councils, task teams and advisory bodies in the Presidency doing?

If you have ever wondered about this since President Cyril Ramaphosa took over at the Union Buildings and Tuynhuys, you are not alone.

The committee newly established to oversee the Presidency is also wondering about this and has promised to take a look.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the committee met in Johannesburg for a strategic planning workshop.

Briefing the media afterwards, the committee chairperson, ANC MP Doris Mpapane, said its members held the workshop to strengthen their institutional capacity to effectively execute their mandate of enhancing accountability at the centre of government and to deepen their understanding of the committee’s mandate.

The committee has only recently been established.

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The previously ANC-dominated Parliaments were loath to take measures to strengthen oversight over the executive, especially the president.

For years, opposition parties agitated for such a committee. Former IFP chief whip Narend Singh (now a deputy minister) proposed that the National Assembly establish a committee to oversee the Presidency in the sixth Parliament.

After the Zondo Commission recommended a committee to oversee the Presidency, the ANC kicked for touch, but DA chief whip George Michalakis placed it on the Rules Committee’s agenda once again after the establishment of the seventh Parliament last year.

In December last year, the National Assembly adopted a report from the Rules Committee paving the way for a committee where the Presidency’s budget can be scrutinised, the director-general in the Presidency can come and account, the president and deputy president can account once per year on key policy matters, and where any matter that gets referred to it by the Speaker of the National Assembly or through a resolution of Parliament relating to the president or Presidency can be investigated.

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On Thursday, Mpapane, previously the ANC’s long-serving deputy chief whip, said the committee wanted to ensure that its work aligns with the seventh administration’s objectives while identifying key oversight priorities.

She said the committee’s establishment is a significant step in strengthening parliamentary oversight over the apex of executive authority.

Mpapane said the committee is committed to ensuring that its work contributes meaningfully to improved governance, accountability and service delivery outcomes for the people of South Africa.

She said its oversight work must ensure tangible improvements in service delivery and socio-economic outcomes.

The Presidency’s cross-cutting role in government creates complexity around who is responsible for its outcomes, and this requires robust oversight, said Mpapane.

“The increasing number of councils, task teams and advisory bodies linked to the Presidency is an issue that oversight needs to address,” said Mpapane.

Mpapane said the committee has now adopted a broad framework. Next, it will be briefed by the Presidency to understand its operations and then finalise its strategic framework.