How John Steenhuisen plans to remove parliament’s 'problematic' ANC members

DA chief whip John Steenhuisen has revealed how his party plans to ensure it will be properly represented in the National Assembly.

This after he branded the ANC’s nominees for committee chairpersons in parliament as alleged "wolves in shepherd's’ clothing" on Monday.

Last month, the ruling party announced the names of members it wanted as committee chairs in the two houses of parliament, the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP)

Among them was Bongani Bongo as chairperson of the portfolio on home affairs and Mosebenzi Zwane as the chairperson of the portfolio on transport.

According to Steenhuisen, the current line-up showed an alleged disregard for good governance.

"The individuals above are but a sample of the more problematic candidates," he said.

Steenhuisen vowed to challenge the appointments by bringing more DA members into positions of power.

"The DA will be laying formal complaints with parliament’s ethics committee against committee chairpersons with substantial allegations against them, as they should not be eligible for these key positions of responsibility.

"We will also put forward our own candidates for the positions of committee chairpersons. During previous parliaments, at least one house chairperson would come from the opposition benches. The fifth parliament had been the exception here. It is for this reason that the DA moved for an amendment to the ANC’s draft resolution in parliament on Thursday," he said.

Steenhuisen said he believed the DA had a responsibility to build a strong and capable sixth parliament that will "fearlessly hold the president, ministers and departments to account".