On Monday evening, Members of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) were notified that Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu would no longer be available to participate in the Social Development budget vote debate scheduled in the NCOP today.
Despite the debate having been on the programme for over a week, Zulu has not provided any reasons for her absence in today’s Parliamentary business.
Zulu is among several other Ministers who seem to disregard their accountability to Parliament in terms of Section 92 of the Constitution.
It is now due to Zulu’s snubbing of this critical department debate, the NCOP has to postpone their business to a later date in order to accommodate the Minister.
Earlier this month, Zulu also failed to attend the Select Committee meeting on Social Development when her department’s adjusted budget was presented to Members of Parliament.
The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown has had severe effects on the lives of South Africans. Ministers such as Zulu owe the country her time to provide adequate details on what plans her Department has in place to alleviate the hardships of South Africans set to face challenging months ahead.
The Democratic Alliance will continue demanding for the Minister’s accountability in the NCOP and ensure that the provinces we represent in this House are able to engage Zulu and her department.