Calls grow for Dlamini-Zuma to face disciplinary over ‘poor performance’

The pressure is mounting on Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma this week, after another prominent politician called for the president to take action against the COGTA minister.

ANC ministers ‘named and shamed’

NDZ is accused of ‘shirking her Parliamentary responsibility’ by Natasha Mazzone. The DA’s chief whip has dished the dirt on the ANC veteran, and several of her colleagues, too. Ministers in 11 departments have a “100% record” for answering questions late in the 2019 calendar year.

Justice minister Ronald Lamola hasn’t answered 95% of questions posed to him by the DA, whereas Zweli Mkhize failed to respond to 34 of the opposition’s 39 queries. However, in an official letter sent through to Cyril Ramaphosa, Mazzone identifies Dlamini-Zuma as one of the worst Parliamentary offenders.

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s Parliamentary record

According to the party, NDZ is on a 24-question streak of submitting the same, vague response to her political rivals. In fact, she has used the exact same one-liner in 108 of the 110 questions sent her way by the DA over the course of the last year in Parliament. Even the updated responded have irked Mazzone:

“Out of 24 written questions posed to Dlamini-Zuma since 13 February, the Minister has replied that ‘the information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available in the Department’. Last year, Dlamini-Zuma replied with this standard response to 108 out of the 110 written questions we posed to her.”

“So far, the Minister has only submitted 19 amended replies to these, and some of these are also of poor quality. Her dismissive and perfunctory treatment of questions is a deeply worrying insight into her understanding of the Constitutional requirement that she account to Parliament.”

Natasha Mazzone

Mazzone wants a disciplinary for Dlamini-Zuma

At the end of last week, John Steenhuisen publicly branded Dlamini-Zuma a liar, claiming that she fibbed about the scale of support for a total ban on cigarettes during lockdown. Mazzone, who replaced Steenhuisen as the DA’s chief whip in Parliament last year, has also followed in his footsteps when it comes to seeking disciplinary action again the leader of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC):

“Dlamini-Zuma has failed to account to Parliament for the exercise of her powers and the performance of her functions by not responding meaningfully and honestly to any parliamentary questions. It is unacceptable that NDZ should be allowed to shirk accountability to Parliament, and should be reprimanded or sanctioned.”

Natasha Mazzone