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The DA has led the fight to establish a Parliament Committee overseeing the Presidency, since the Zondo recommendations into State Capture.

Despite a clear lapse in oversight over the Union Buildings, the ANC has been hellbent against this Committee.

The ANC today will field its own candidate for Committee Chairperson, and the DA will not vote for a candidate of the same party as the President.

The much awaited Portfolio Committee on the Presidency is due to elect its chairperson in Parliament today. The DA understands that the ANC plans to field its own candidate.

From the start, the DA has been adamant that oversight needs to be seen to be done and that the chairperson of this committee cannot be from the same party as the President.

We therefore intend putting forward the name of a DA candidate to ensure that there is a balance of power and that the committee does not simply become a mechanism through which the ANC can protect the President.

Regardless of which party presides over the committee, the DA will use this tool to ensure parliamentary accountability. We played a fundamental role in establishing this committee, and use it to the benefit of South Africans.

From the start, the ANC has been opposed to establishing this committee, until the DA with the help of other parties ensured its establishment through the Rules Committee. They seem to continue to be hell-bent on shielding the President. Something they will ultimately have to answer to the voters for.

Issued by George Michalakis MP - DA Chief Whip in Parliament