ENERGY Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson and her department on Tuesday received a dressing-down from MPs, who warned her they would clean up her department if she did not.The warning came during Parliament’s energy portfolio committee meeting, when the MPs were briefed by the department’s acting director-general, Wolsey Barnard, and other senior officials.Ms Joemat-Pettersson arrived late, for which she had made an apology, and spoke infrequently, leaving the officials to field almost all the questions from the MPs.This is the first time an MP from Ms Joemat-Pettersson’s own party had directly criticised her since she became energy minister after last year’s national elections.However, in her previous role as agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister, she often bumped heads with MPs from all parties over issues of policy and governance.The main bone of contention on Tuesday was that the department had failed to spend its entire budget during the past two quarters and was not achiev...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.