DA members call for more scrutiny of party’s ministers

Growing concerns within the DA over its performance in the government of national unity (GNU) have prompted at least one provincial structure to call for formal oversight mechanisms for DA ministers, amid questions about the party’s influence in government and how it accounts for its work.

Insiders said the issue came to a head at an Eastern Cape provincial executive committee meeting last week before being escalated to the provincial council, where members “unanimously” agreed to request that the party’s national leadership introduce regular governance reports on the performance of DA ministers and deputy ministers.

However, the chair of the DA’s federal council, Ashor Sarupen, told the Sunday Times of several mechanisms the party had already introduced to hold its GNU cabinet members to account.

Party sources said the Eastern Cape provincial council’s proposal would require ministers to account to party structures in the same way DA-run municipalities report to the federal council, the party’s highest decision-making body between congresses.

“We get governance reports on what happens in our municipalities so the federal council can provide oversight, but there has never been a formal report tabled on the performance of our ministers in their respective portfolios,” a senior DA leader told the Sunday Times.

The source said the request was not driven by a desire to leave the GNU but by a need to evaluate whether the party was achieving the objectives it set when it entered government after the 2024 elections.

The call for stronger accountability mechanisms comes as the DA adjusts to a change in leadership

“We need to ask whether we are as effective as we should be in the GNU. What are we achieving? Do we have a strong enough impact on changing policy? Those are important questions for the DA.”

The discussions also reflected a growing feeling among some party members that they are disconnected from the work being done by DA ministers in national government, another source said. “There are 12 people in the GNU, but the rest of the party feel they’re not part of it.”

The insider said in the past two years since the formation of the GNU, the party has received no governance report on the performance of its members in government.

“While [the federal executive] decides whether we should go into government or not, the federal council should receive reports. The people in our structures are under enormous pressure, and because we are in national government, people don’t feel that we are responsive enough or differentiating ourselves from the ANC.”

The call for stronger accountability mechanisms comes as the DA adjusts to a change in leadership.

Under Steenhuisen, oversight of ministers was more direct because he led the DA in parliament and worked closely with members of the executive. With Hill-Lewis now outside the national caucus and not serving in the cabinet, some members believe formal reporting structures are necessary to ensure accountability.

The debate has also been influenced by dissatisfaction among some agricultural communities over Steenhuisen’s handling of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Party insiders said frustrations among farmers and agricultural stakeholders have increasingly filtered into DA structures, particularly in provinces with significant farming communities.

Recent controversy over an e-mail from Steenhuisen’s ministry has added to those concerns.

Party sources said the incident reignited criticism within sections of the agricultural sector already frustrated by the foot-and-mouth crisis.

One proposal is that the federal council and the federal executive regularly assess ministerial performance and provide opportunities for debate and scrutiny

While members acknowledged that record numbers of vaccines had been procured, they argued that many affected farmers felt interventions came too late to prevent significant losses.

Those discussions contributed to the formal request to the party’s central leadership to review how party members in the GNU report back to structures and whether additional accountability measures are required.

One proposal is that the federal council and the federal executive regularly assess ministerial performance and provide opportunities for debate and scrutiny.

The review could also have implications for the composition of the DA’s executive team.

“At the end of the day, the leader might even decide that some ministers should possibly be replaced,” one senior party figure said. “It’s not born out of a concern that we are not delivering at all. We’re saying we must be as effective and efficient as possible and make the biggest impact we can.”

However, Sarupen said the party already had formal weekly meetings led by Hill-Lewis, and that DA ministers and deputy ministers reported to the parliamentary caucus on their work.

“In addition, Ryan Coetzee has a monthly performance management meeting with the ministers and deputy ministers.” Sarupen said Coetzee had been appointed to assist Hill-Lewis.

“We produce governance reports and the party regularly reviews the performance of all its public representatives,” he said.

The DA’s Eastern Cape leader, Andrew Whitfield, told the Sunday Times that he was not at liberty to discuss details of the discussions that took place in the provincial council.

“I can say that robust and constructive discussions were held,” he said. “I can confirm that I have been tasked with engaging federal leadership on the issues raised, with a vote to strengthen the DA’s role in the GNU and ensure the party better supports the work of ministers and deputy ministers, and vice versa.”

Federal council chair Ashor Sarupen said that there are already formal weekly meetings led by Geordin Hill Lewis, and DA ministers and deputy ministers report to the parliamentary caucus on their work.

In addition, he said, Ryan Coetzee has a monthly performance management meeting with the ministers and deputy ministers.

“The party regularly reviews the performance of all its public representatives.”