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Speculation mounts over Max Sisulu's departure
Mfeketo as new Speaker would be bad for democracy
DA opposes possible appointment of Mfeketo as Speaker




Speaker Max Sisulu's speculated move to the executive would leave the deputy speaker, Nomainida Mfeketo, as his most obvious replacement. Her appointment would be problematic both in principle and in practice.

On the one hand, her position on the ANC's NEC and former position in the executive detracts from her independence and objectivity; on the other, her highly questionable record of nepotism, poor service delivery and financial mismanagement would bring into question her ability to properly administer parliament.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls upon the speaker to clarify his future as soon as possible and will oppose the possible appointment of Mfeketo.

The principled problem:

The Speaker, as the head of the legislative arm of government, is not only responsible for the general administration of parliament as an institution, but also for ensuring that the relationship between the executive and the legislature is effectively managed. The speaker should therefore be objective, dispassionate and follow best democratic practices at all times.

As a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee and National Working Committee she is neither impartial nor is she objective. By serving on the highest decision making body of the ruling party, she is highly entrenched in the processes of policy formation which determines the conduct of the executive, as well as the majority party in parliament.

The practical problem:

Mfeketo's appointment as Speaker of the National Assembly would also raise a number of concerns on a more practical level. During her tenure as mayor of the City of Cape Town she oversaw widespread nepotism, poor service delivery and numerous instances of financial mismanagement.

This included the appointment of her brother to the second highest post in the city police service in 2005; widespread corruption and mismanagement of the N2 Gateway Project; the bungling of the Jewellery City Project, poor service delivery and financial mismanagement.

This poor record has not improved since being elected deputy speaker in 2009. Earlier this year, Mfeketo appointed Thabo Mokoena, a consultant who was paid R1200 an hour for the failed Jewellery City project, as her adviser. The R18 million project, which was never implemented, earned Mokoena some R4.2 million during the nine months which he was employed.

This nepotistic rewarding of failure, while indicative of Mfeketo's own problematic record in the City of Cape Town, is not becoming of a Speaker of the National Assembly, who is responsible for the administration of Parliament as an institution.

The continued speculation as to the future of the speaker will only undermine public faith in the institution. We call on the speaker to clarify, unequivocally, his position and his future as soon as possible.

If Mfeketo replaces Sisulu, it would unfortunately be nothing more than the further politicization of what should be the independent office of the speaker, and the extension of the ANC's cadre deployment policy into the high offices of parliament.