In an attempt to circumvent the working of Parliament, Minister Didiza withheld an answer to a written parliamentary question by the Democratic Alliance (DA) submitted on 29 May 2020 which sought the breakdown of the successful beneficiaries of the R1.3 billion Covid-19 support fund for agriculture.

In an effort to hold the Minister accountable, I decided yesterday to ask the question orally at the Portfolio Committee meeting on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. Half an hour before the meeting was set to start, Minister Didiza’s office sent me a copy of her reply, stating “Full relevant details of the beneficiaries of the R1.2 Billion Covid-19 Agricultural Disaster Fund of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development was forwarded to The Speaker of the National Assembly, The NCOP Chairperson, the Chairpersons of the Portfolio Committee and Select Committee on 13 August 2020.”

The Minister’s decision to send the reply to my question to all but me is at odds with the standard procedure of how parliamentary questions work. Replies to parliamentary questions are not usually sent to the Speaker of the National Assembly, the NCOP Chairperson, the Chairpersons of the Portfolio Committee.

When the Minister was questioned on whether there were rule changes that meant that I would not receive answers to questions which I had submitted, the Minister replied that she will send me the information if I “really want it”.

It is important to note that even though the Minister has been asked for the information on more than one occasion, even though she knows the DA wants access to this information, and even though she has promised to supply said information, we have yet to receive so much as an SMS on when the Minister plans to send it, never mind actually receiving it as promised.

What is the Minister trying to hide? The DA assumes that a Minister as long-serving as Minister Didiza would know the rules of Parliament and would happily comply in an effort to prove that her Department had nothing untoward to try and sweep under the mat.

The DA will write to the Committee Chairperson and ask that this matter is placed on the agenda as a matter of urgency.

The Minister needs to give account of:

Why she provided an answer to our oral question 30 minutes before the seating and why was it dated 27 August 2020; and

How is the Department, that is already struggling to meet its targets, able to afford shifting billions from Land Reform to cover Covid-19 needs? Since this money was already allocated, what will to happen to those potential beneficiaries?

Ministers cannot continue to rule the roost as though they have to give no account of their or their Departments’ misdeeds. And Minister Didiza’s disdain for the working of Parliament and the accountability process should not be left there.

Issued by The DA