A man holds a green MK party flag aloft File Picture: Doctor Ngcobo Independent Newspapers
Durban: The MK Party said while it is doing good work in debates in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, there is room for improvement in its use of parliamentary questions to hold the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) and the provincial executive to account.
The party secured more than 45% of the votes in the May 29 national and general election, but it failed to secure an outright majority in KZN, and a coalition with the ANC, DA, IFP and National Freedom Party (NFP) formed the GPU.
The party is set to mark its first anniversary with a celebration at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Sunday.
MKP Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa said while the party was doing good work in holding the executive to account, there was room for improvement.
He was responding to the DA which this week said it had submitted 122 written parliamentary questions to the provincial executive since taking office in June 2024, compared to the official opposition, the MKP and EFF, who had submitted 36 written parliamentary questions during the same period.
“The pressure that we are exerting (on the executive) is enough to keep them on their toes but there is room for improvement.
“Our philosophy, or our understanding, is that the MK Party is the majority party in the province and should have led the government but because of the GPU, we are in the opposition.”
He said the party was working hard to return the government “to the rightful people”.
Visvin Reddy, the party’s Member of Parliament, said while they are the largest political party in KZN, they became the opposition because of the coalition arrangement between the ANC and the DA.
“That should never make us wimps in Parliament in KZN, because the province is extremely unstable politically, economically, socially and in every other way.
“So if our members are not holding this coalition arrangement accountable in KZN, it is an area that we need to discuss, and I will be meeting them this week to find out exactly what is going on and whether they are, in fact, taking their role as opposition seriously.”
Reddy said at a national level, the party is holding the Government of National Unity to account.
“There’s not a day or a session in parliament that goes by where we do not pose or expose inefficiencies in the government,” Reddy said.
A senior party insider acknowledged that the party was “still finding its way” as an opposition party in the legislature as many of the MPLs had been “nurses, teachers, lecturers and lawyers” and not seasoned politicians.
“They were not involved politically previously but some of them have learned very quickly. There is a high level of debate and of holding the government to account, but there is a feeling internally that more written parliamentary questions should have been submitted.”
The DA’s MPL Dr Imran Keeka, in a statement, said questions to the executive are a powerful mechanism within the rules of the Legislature and may be submitted to any member of the executive, including the Premier, and require a response normally within a two-week period.
“Questions submitted by members can be portfolio-related or linked to constituency issues, allowing communities to get answers to specific local challenges. They may also relate to funding in a bid to ensure that KZN’s coffers are put to good use. The DA has long used parliamentary questions as a means of holding KZN’s executive to account and to providing feedback to communities,” Keeka said.
Political analyst Professor Bheki Mngomezulu said an opposition party must be a united force if it is to function effectively.
“The problem is that the MK is a new party and there are people who have joined the party, sometimes with ill intentions, and some of them might not necessarily be advancing the party cause, making it difficult to play its role as official opposition.
“Not all of them have government experience or experience of the internal processes.”
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