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Despite Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe's assurance on the 4 November 2009 that cabinet has committed themselves to answer all parliamentary questions by the time Parliament rises on 15 December 2009, a total of 110 questions posed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) were noted as unanswered and lapsed. The reluctance of the executive to fulfil its constitutional obligation and the disdain shown for the Parliamentary oversight mechanisms, which has been a longstanding issue raised by the Democratic Alliance, has once again become evident through this.

The Democratic Alliance has on numerous occasions requested the Deputy President as Leader of Government Business to intervene and ensure that Ministers are held accountable for their actions and fulfil their constitutional obligation by answering parliamentary questions. In response to this, Deputy President Motlanthe has stated that he reports back on outstanding questions at every cabinet meeting and that he will take action against Ministers failing to fulfil their duties. Furthermore, the Democratic Alliance welcomed the commitment made by cabinet on the 4 November 2009 to ensure that all parliamentary questions are replied to by the time Parliament rises on the 15 of December 2009.

This commitment, like many other made by the Executive, were not fulfilled. 14 of the 34 Ministers failed to abide by the commitment made by cabinet, leaving a total of 110 DA posed questions unanswered in 2009. Although it is commendable to say that 20 of the 34 minister did comply, it should be noted, that Ministers in key portfolios, like Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Health, Police and Transport were among the Ministers who failed to provide replies to questions posed to them. It should also be noted that several Ministers, including the Minister's of Home Affairs, State Security, Defence and Military Veterans continuously failed to provide sufficient and adequate replies to the questions posed to them.

The following members of the Executive failed to reply to all of the questions posed to their Departments in 2009:

Portfolio Minister No of Questions not replied to
Office of the President: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration in the Presidency Collins Chabane 2
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tina Joemat-Peterson 2
Arts and Culture Lulu Xingwana 14
Co-operative Governance and Tradional Affairs Sicelo Shiceka 7
Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu 13
Health Aaron Motsoaledi 16
Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale 2
Police Nathi Mthethwa 13
Public Enterprises Barbara Hogan 2
Public Service and Administration Richard Baloyi 3
Rural Development and Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti 2
Transport Sbu Ndebele 26
Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica 1
Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities Nnoluthando Mayende-Sibiya 7
Total 110

That 110 questions remain outstanding demonstrates a lack of respect for the oversight mechanisms of Parliament. Although each cabinet minister has taken an oath or affirmation to uphold and protect the Constitution of South Africa, they refrain from fulfiling this basic requirement, thus contravening their own undertakings, and showing disrespect for the Constitution and Parliament.

From this it is also evident that either President Zuma and Deputy President Motlanthe share cabinet's disdain for the parliamentary oversight mechanisms, and are doing nothing to address their cabinet ministers' indifference towards Parliament, or that neither President Zuma nor Deputy President Motlanthe are able to exert any authority in those departments that are not answering questions timeously.

The Democratic Alliance will be re-submitting these 110 questions, which we will track to see how long it takes the executive to respond to them, besides the time already taken in 2009.

It is now the time for Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and Speaker Max Sisulu to act against these ministers for failing to comply with their constitutional obligation and for putting both government and the executive in disrepute, by failing to comply with the commitment made by themselves in 2009.

If the Deputy President does not act against the rotten apples, this disdain for the constitution and Parliament will only get worse.

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