Last week began with media speculation about the pending replacement by the ruling party in the provincial Parliament of Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) chairperson Mrs Jo-Ann Downs of the ACDP with Reverend Hawu Mbatha of Nadeco.

The ANC Chief Whip vigorously denied the ruling party's plans to sack the chairperson who has been instrumental in exposing vast volumes of mismanagement and corruption in the Department of Agriculture and elsewhere in the provincial government.

At the end of the week, Mrs Downs's replacement was plainly announced in Parliament. One would imagine that Mrs Downs's commitment to sound parliamentary oversight would be a recommendation. Instead, the chairperson was targeted for replacement while scores of incompetent MECs and civil servants across the provincial government continue to be nurtured and rewarded by the ruling party.

The IFP sees the underhand attack on the former SCOPA chairperson in the light of the ruling party's growing aggression towards independent thinking in a number of democratic institutions and in the media. Mrs Downs's sacking is parallel to the national government's drive to dismantle the Scorpions. If an institution or a person proves particularly effective in the fight against government corruption, they are quickly targeted for removal.

The IFP is equally unhappy about Mrs Downs's replacement, Rev Mbatha. The privilege of chairing SCOPA, by convention, goes to a representative of the political opposition. Rev Mbatha and Nadeco are, in all but name, an extension of the ruling party. The IFP also feels that Rev Mbatha's new role may constitute a conflict of interest since he has reportedly been a beneficiary of a mechanisation programme run by the controversial Department of Agriculture.

It is inconceivable that someone who has directly benefited from a government-funded programme should preside over a parliamentary committee that oversees sound implementation of government policy. But this is how the ANC prefers it.

Dr Lionel Mtshali
Leader of the Official Opposition 

Contact: Dr Lionel Mtshali, 083 256 4902