New ANC chief whip Majodina will give it best shot
Pemmy Majodina, famous for her flamboyant headdress, wore a very different hat when she took up her new post as ANC chief whip – and she has vowed to crack that whip in parliament.
Majodina told journalists she would make quite sure that the majority party’s caucus would conduct robust oversight on the executive, and do so diligently and intelligently.
She addressed parliamentary journalists following the party’s first caucus meeting on Tuesday, where ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule introduced her to MPs as their new boss.
Majodina‚ who is new to the national legislature‚ said her main objective was to make sure that ANC MPs do not be- come lame ducks but conduct robust oversight of the execu- tive without creating tensions.
“As the ANC caucus we are going to unpack the manifesto of the ANC in terms of the implementation plan and time-frames. We are going to make sure that members of the ANC rise to the occasion and they rise to the mandate that the ANC has given them to be here‚” she said.
Majodina said the ANC caucus would play its oversight role faster and smarter than before because “our people are waiting for us to be there‚ to give them services and to build cohesion as well as a social contract with them”.
Majodina said she was looking forward to building a team of ANC MPs but without compromising the constitution.
“I’m very much humbled to be appointed as the ANC chief whip but I’m whipping leaders,” she said.
Majodina said as a matter of procedure‚ the ANC would wait for President Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint his cabinet before appointing chairs of parliamentary portfolio committees.
She said the cabinet would most likely be appointed by Monday and thereafter the organisation would appoint “capable” committee chairs as well as “the entire whippery and other outstanding portfolios”.
When asked about her leadership style‚ she said hers was not autocratic.
“I’m working with leaders in their own right but there is only one chief whip of the majority party.”
“People must live by the values of the ANC and make sure that we are here to represent our people. That is what we will be expecting from all of them. “They must move faster and better; we don’t have time to play around.” – DDC..
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