Ramaphosa defends 'Super Presidency' as centre that ensures delivery

President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended the size of the Presidency, saying strong co-ordination from the centre of government was critical to ensuring government programmes were implemented.

The government has seen in practice the value of this approach through mechanisms led by the Presidency, such as the co-ordinating committees set up to deal with challenges such as energy and logistics and the entire reform process. It is also to ensure that government breaks down the silo approach to work and get everyone to work together.

“Some of you have correctly said that the Presidency has ‘convening powers’. But it is much more than that: it is to ensure that there is intergovernmental co-operation and execution,” he said.

“Some of you in this house have said we are building a ‘Super Presidency’ that subsumes the role of government departments. On the contrary, the Presidency complements and strengthens the work of government as a whole.”

Ramaphosa explained that the role of the Presidency was to guide planning, co-ordination and oversight, and support for the agenda of government through institutions such as the cabinet office, the project management office and policy and research services.

He was replying to Tuesday’s debate on the Presidency budget vote where he was criticised for micromanaging the state in his office.

He said over the next five years, the Presidency will focus on working closely with all departments and spheres of government to implement the priorities that have been set out.

“Much as one has been criticised for wanting to rely on a number of structures, what I sought to do is to rely on the wisdom and the insights of as many talented and gifted South Africans as possible because this is a country we are seeking to build.”

With a small team of dedicated officials in the Presidency and the National Treasury, working closely with a range of government departments and entities, the reforms implemented through Operation Vulindlela have had a measurable impact on growth and investment, he said.

A number of MPs had raised the issue of a bloated Presidency in relation to the lack of a dedicated parliamentary oversight committee that holds the president and the Presidency to account.

Ramaphosa said it was correct and proper that parliament, through its relevant structures, should give the matter consideration and determine the most appropriate way to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities. The Presidency, like the rest of the executive, was committed to honouring its accountability to parliament, he said.

“I’ve said to my colleagues that we have nothing to hide. There is just nothing that we can say we want to hide and we are accountable to this parliament.”

Besides opposition parties which have been calling for the establishment of such an oversight committee for years, the matter was also raised by the Zondo commission which recommended that parliament should consider whether it would be desirable for it to establish a committee whose function is, or includes, oversight over acts or omissions by the president and Presidency, which are not overseen by existing committees.

Members of the National Assembly’s rules committee undertook a study tour to the UK in July last year to engage their counterparts on the matter. On its return, the delegation recommended that while the South African parliament already had comprehensive procedures to facilitate oversight and accountability, there remain features of the rules and practices that could be enriched.

The committee said the National Assembly should remain proactive and open to reforms to support its systems and practices; and in the case of oversight over the Presidency, the portfolio committee on planning, monitoring and evaluation should be mandated to scrutinise the budget and spending of the vote on the Presidency.

“As this matter has been raised by the number of speakers here, I do believe that what the delegation has recommended is in line with the manner in which the Presidency is able to exercise its accountability to parliament,” he said.

The president also defended the size of his executive, saying that while the government sought to use the resources of the state optimally and sensibly, “we have also had to ensure that we achieve inclusivity and balance particularly now as we have set up a government of national unity which is an unprecedented development in the history of our country [with] up to 10 parties participating”.

This was important for ensuring governance outcomes that served the interests of all South Africans, he said.

“Yes, the size of the executive will continue to be under review as we move on and as our democracy matures,” Ramaphosa said.

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