The ANC secured the chair of parliament’s new Presidency committee on Thursday.
ANC MP Dorries Eunice Mpapane was elected chair with five votes. ActionSA MP Athol Trollip received four votes, while DA MP Baxolile Nodada secured two.
The ANC and PA members on the committee voted for Mpapane, while the DA used its two votes to support Nodada. Other opposition — MK, EFF, ActionSA and UAT — backed Trollip. The split in opposition votes allowed the ANC candidate to secure the chair.
The Presidency committee was recently established to provide direct parliamentary oversight of the president and the Presidency — a development that has drawn attention because the governing ANC now chairs a committee tasked with overseeing an ANC president.
The vote came a day after the committee was forced to postpone the election following a dispute over procedural irregularities during the nomination process.
During Wednesday’s meeting, DA chief whip George Michalakis seconded his own nomination for the position after being nominated by his colleague Nodada. Parliamentary legal advisers later ruled that while self-nomination is permissible, a member may not second their own nomination.
In an advisory note presented to the committee on Thursday, legal services explained that seconding a nomination serves to demonstrate independent support for a candidate. “Logic dictates that you cannot validate yourself. You must be validated by another,” the committee was told.
I believe the MK’s sole purpose in parliament is to destabilise the institution, and therefore a vote for Trollip would be a vote for the MK in this instance
— George Michalakis, DA chief whip
Legal advisers further found the participation of an improperly co-opted member during the earlier meeting had also compromised the process. Because those procedural issues affected the validity of the proceedings, the committee was advised that the election should be rerun to preserve the integrity of parliamentary processes.
Michalakis had argued the committee responsible for overseeing the Presidency should not be chaired by a member of the same party as the president.
He also defended the DA’s decision to field its own candidate, saying the party believed it was best placed to lead the committee.
However, when nominations opened, despite holding only two votes on the committee, the DA chose not to support Trollip and instead put forward its own nominee.
Following the vote, Trollip criticised the DA’s decision not to support a unified opposition candidate. He told Business Day: “The DA said they would not support the ANC’s nomination for chair, but instead of voting with all other opposition parties, they used their two votes to vote for themselves. They persisted with voting for themselves, knowing it would deliver the committee to the ANC. The DA has cut off its nose to spite its face.”
“Whenever we commit mistakes during the execution of our responsibilities, there will always be members willing to point those mistakes out and take criticism,” she said.
— Dorries Eunice Mpapane, ANC MP
After being elected chairperson, Mpapane thanked committee members and acknowledged the responsibility of leading the oversight body.
“I have never been much interested in comments, and I promise not to be partisan,” she told members. “This committee … let me say that I’m blessed because I’m surrounded by experienced men and women who are honourable members of parliament.”
She said the committee included members with significant parliamentary experience and stressed the importance of working collectively. “Whenever we commit mistakes during the execution of our responsibilities, there will always be members willing to point those mistakes out and take criticism.”
Mpapane also said administrative processes, including notices of meetings and communication with members, would be handled properly to ensure the committee functions effectively.
Business Day
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