Parliament, Tuesday, 10 May 2022 – The leader of the South African delegation to the inaugural conference of heads of African parliaments, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, called on African legislatures to consider those citizens subjected to unconstitutional changes in government and accelerate interventions to correct and prevent the emerging trend.
Ms Mapisa-Nqakula was participating in a debate on how parliaments can accelerate Africa’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. She pointed out that citizens governed by unconstitutionally installed governments may fail to enjoy the benefits of the work done by forums such as the CoSAP group.
Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula also shared some of South Africa’s experiences in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and listed a range of interventions implemented. These included adapting oversight implementation to use virtual platforms; the introduction of stimulus packages and enhancing the social security network through use of grants; and sharpening oversight, as disasters necessitate reprioritising budgets.
She also flagged the need for countries to continue reporting openly on corruption, despite the dangers posed by high ratings on corruption indexes. Nonetheless, she said that strengthened oversight of the executive has yielded progress in South Africa in the fight against Covid-19-related corruption. The South African Auditor-General’s introduction of near real-time auditing and tracking of funds required a special dispensation to succeed, Ms Mapisa-Nqakula said.
South Africa’s delegation to the COSAP meeting also includes the Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Ms Sylvia Lucas, and the Chief Whip of the majority party in Parliament, Ms Pemmy Majodina. The delegation will have bilateral engagements with Speakers and other heads of African parliaments to discuss matters of shared interest, in particular efforts to build effective legislative systems to advance African unity and cohesion.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
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