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The Democratic Alliance (DA) is concerned by the authoritarian behaviour of the Minister of Arts and Culture, Lulu Xingwana, who has acted unilaterally to dismiss the entire National Heritage Council following her department's own bungling in appointing members of the council in the first instance.

Reports in today's Sunday Independent show that the minister has dismissed the entire National Heritage Council. This autocratic act was seemingly an attempt to rectify the minister's own disregard for following due process in appointing the members of the council in the first place. The reports also claim that the minister has since invited members to reapply.

This unfortunate episode is problematic for three reasons. The first is that the minister erred by not following the rules of the National Heritage Council Act in appointing the members. It appears that the original appointments of the members breached the rules of good governance outlined in the National Heritage Council Act, with only two of the seven members apparently appointed according to the rules and regulations of the Act. It is the minister's duty to follow the outlines of all legislation relating to her department.
The second is that the minister seems to be acting as a law unto herself, dismissing an entire entity of her department at a whim, seemingly to make up for her department's own error. This is especially concerning where national councils are involved and raises questions about other entities falling under the department's control.

The third is that the minister seems to be making a mockery of the entire process by then inviting the same members just dismissed to reapply for their former positions. This seems a rather strange and convoluted process that possibly compromises the integrity of the council.

The DA shall be writing to the chairperson of the portfolio committee on arts and culture, requesting that the minister appear before the committee to explain why she has chosen to repeatedly disregard proper procedures and what other entities under her department, if any, have not been properly constituted.