Tomorrow, President Cyril Ramaphosa will appear before the National Assembly (NA) for his first oral question and answer session of the year. Build One South Africa (BOSA) is of the view that the current framework, which permits the President to spend less than 10 hours a year answering questions from Members of Parliament (MPs), is insufficient. It is a fraction of the time necessary for meaningful oversight and accountability of the first citizen of the country.
Under the current Rule 140 of the Rules of the National Assembly, the President is required to appear at least once per quarter, with only six MPs allowed to ask questions per session. Answers are pre-submitted and pre-prepared, with supplementary questions often not satisfactorily answered.
For a government that now operates with 70% of Parliament as a GNU and one in every five MPs serving as ministers or deputies, this limited exposure is inadequate.
Too often our plenaries become political theatre filled with petty exchanges, personal vendettas, and political protectionism. It leaves South Africans asking, “When will the work of this House become about us, the people?”
It is a less-than-ideal accountability mechanism, if you compare with a country like the UK which has a similar parliamentary system to South Africa. There, Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) are every Wednesday when the House is sitting and in session. This allows meaningful engagement with the leader of government, chaired by an adequately partisan speaker.
If we are serious about fixing this, we must change both the rules and the habits.
BOSA believes this model has become a ritual of acknowledgment without action, with executives offering polite affirmations of “I agree” rather than specific, measurable, and time-bound commitments.
That is why BOSA is today announcing a process to amend the Rules of Parliament to increase Presidential Q&A sessions from once a quarter to twice a quarter, ensuring the President is held to account eight times per year.
BOSA will request that the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza MP, refer this matter to the Rules Committee so that the proposal can be formally presented for review and consideration. The suggested new amended rule to be tabled is as follows:
“(a) scheduled in accordance with Rule 210 for a question day twice per quarter during session time within the annual programme, and the President must appear before the Assembly on those occasions to reply to questions, except where the Speaker is satisfied that exceptional circumstances beyond the President’s control make such appearance impossible.”
In addition, BOSA advocates for the following changes to the current setup:
- Defining substantive answers in the Rules, codifying ATC 111 (2011) principles.
- A five-day written-response rule for supplementary questions.
- A Parliamentary Answer Office to monitor compliance.
- Public scorecards tracking ministerial and executive responsiveness.
- Escalation and consequence mechanisms for non-compliance.
Parliament exists to hold government accountable and force it to deliver on its commitment. It has quickly become a stage for empty displays of politeness and deference. This cannot continue.
BOSA will champion these reforms to ensure President and Deputy President are substantively accountable to Parliament, which is the body that represents the people.
Media Enquiries:
Roger Solomons
BOSA Spokesperson
072 299 3551