LETTER: MPs need to get off their high horses

We have 400 MPs who are generously compensated by taxpayers for being elected to office by their political parties. We have many opposition parties keeping seats warm.

The question the chattering classes would love to ask is how come not one parliamentarian knew the extent of the rot at Eskom? Where is the real political oversight? Load-shedding has not just happened — it has been around for at least 15 years. We can ask this question about every other state-owned enterprise.

The present parliamentary oversight system has not detected the collapse of any of these institutions. All present political parties are just sitting on these seats sending out gloriously pompous press releases demanding the ANC do this or that. The ANC cannot be trusted in any form, yet questions are routinely submitted and the parliamentary rules followed. What does that actually mean?

They need to get off their butts and do some investigative oversight — count the trucks delivering coal, physically analyse the quality, place real pressure on the governing party to answer questions. They need to climb off their high horses.

The governing ANC and the clowns in cabinet (thanks Rob Hersov for telling it as it is) are mainly incompetent, but what about all the other parliamentary ticks? Maybe politicians’ salaries should also be affected by load-shedding?

SA deserves a more accountable and robust parliamentary and political system. We need electoral reform, urgently.  

Gary Scallan, Capri

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