The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA; Afrikaans: Staande Komitee oor Openbare Rekeninge) is a standing committee of the National Assembly of South Africa, the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa. It oversees the financial statements of all government departments and state institutions, any audit reports issued on those statements, reports compiled by the Auditor-General on government departments and state institutions, as well as any other financial statements or reports referred to by the committee.[1]
Independence of the Chair
editFrom 1994 until 2024 the practice has been that Parliament elects an opposition party member as chairperson. African People's Convention’s Themba Godi, who was the SCOPA chair for 15 years, in 2022 said about the party affiliation of the chair:
“Having an opposition member leading Scopa has obvious advantages. The chair is not immediately constrained by narrow party considerations, especially the instinct to defend or avoid embarrassing their own party’s minister. It also makes officials’ work more difficult in preparing for meetings, in the knowledge that the chair will not instinctively be inclined to cover up a bit for them. An opposition chair is immune from the internal party backlash and is readily available to communicate messages to the public via the media.”[2]
In July 2024 the South African Parliament elected Songezi Zibi from Rise Mzansi, a member of the Government of National Unity (NGU) as chairperson.ActionSA, an opposition party that has not joined the GNU, criticised his election saying that the position has been "gifted to a member of the multi-party government/'GNU' which already commands a 70% majority in Parliament [which] serves to potentially neuter effective oversight over government expenditure and outcomes related performance. ... Strong government needs a counter balancing force in opposition that uses the considerable powers afforded to a SCOPA Chairperson to hold government to account."[3]
Zibi responded:[4] “I think people are mischaracterising the tradition ... The tradition is that the chair of Scopa is not from the majority party. [Rise Mzansi is] not even in the national Cabinet, so the conflict doesn’t arise.”
Membership
editThe membership of the committee is as follows:[5][6]
| Party | Member | Position | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RISE | Songezo Zibi | Chairperson | 2024 | |
| ActionSA | Alan Beesley | Member | 2024 | |
| ANC | Tintswalo Bila | Member | 2024 | |
| DA | Patrick Atkinson | Member | 2024 | |
| DA | Farhat Essack | Member | 2024 | |
| ANC | Helen Neale-May | Member | 2024 | |
| MK | TTS Kubheka | Member | 2024 | |
| ANC | Ntando Maduna | Member | 2024 | |
| EFF | Veronica Mente-Nkuna | Member | 2019 | |
| MK | David Mandla Skosana | Member | 2024 | |
| UDM | Christobel Thandiwe Nontenja | Alternate | 2024 | |
| EFF | Mazwikayise Brian Blose | Alternate | 2024 | |
| DA | Kingsley Wakelin | Alternate | 2024 | |
List of chairpersons
editIt is customary for a member of an opposition party to serve as chairperson of the committee.[7] However, in 2024 Songezi Zibi, the leader of Rise Mzansi, a member of the GNU, was elected chairperson.
| Chairperson | Party | Term Start | Term End | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Andrew | Democratic Party | 1994 | 1999 | |
| Gavin Woods | Inkatha Freedom Party | 1999 | 2002[8] | |
| Francois Beukman | New National Party | 2002[9] | 2005[10][11] | |
| Themba Godi | Pan Africanist Congress | 2005[12] | 2007 | |
| African People's Convention | 2007 | 2019 | ||
| Mkhuleko Hlengwa | Inkatha Freedom Party | 2019[13] | 2024 | |
| Songezo Zibi | Rise Mzansi | 2024 | Incumbent | |
References
edit- ^ "Role of Parliamentary Committees". Parliament of South Africa. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ "How Are SCOPA Chairpersons Elected Nationally and Provincially?". pa.org.za. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ Athol Trollip (10 July 2024). "Election of Grand Coalition Member to SCOPA Chair a Cynical Plot to Paralyze Government Oversight". ActionSA Parliamentary Caucus. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ Rebecca Davis (20 August 2024). "GNU offers new opportunities for accountability — Scopa chair Songezo Zibi". Daily Maverick. Archived from the original on 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ "Public Accounts (SCOPA)". Parliamentary Monitoring Group. Archived from the original on 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ "Parliament: Standing Committee on Public Accounts". Parliament of South Africa. Archived from the original on 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ "How Are SCOPA Chairpersons Elected Nationally and Provincially?". People's Assembly. 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
- ^ "Gavin Woods resigns". News24. 25 February 2002. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
- ^ "New Scopa chair a 'lackey'". News24. 25 April 2002. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
- ^ "NNP to chair Scopa – for now". IOL. 2 June 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ "Scopa chairperson resigns after switching parties". The Mail & Guardian. 2005-09-07. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
- ^ "DA criticises ANC choice for Scopa chair". The Mail & Guardian. 2005-10-24. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
- ^ "IFP's Mkhuleko Hlengwa is new chair of watchdog Scopa". Sunday Times. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 2023-06-10.