Chairs of oversight committees have been told to attend a compulsory media training course this month that will enable them to "effectively" communicate their work. But the timing of the training is raising eyebrows, and critics are saying it's nothing more than an election ploy.
An ANC MP, who is also the chair of a committee, said: "The ANC wants to go big on its successes of the past 20 years, and chairpersons must be able to say 'these are the pro-poor policies that the ANC government has passed since it came to power'."
The MP, who did not want to be named, said the plan was for every ANC member to be able to answer questions from voters, and committee chairs are vital in articulating these to the media and the public.
Parliament spokesperson Luzuko Jacobs said chairs are spokespersons of their committees and "it is important for [them] to communicate effectively with the media and the public on the work that their committees are doing".
Jacobs could not say how much the training would cost, but that quotations from several service providers were being considered.
The Democratic Alliance's chief whip Watty Watson said the exercise was totally unnecessary and a waste of money. "I don't think it is necessary so close to the end of the term. Something is fishy there," he said.
Watson said that Parliament has a communications unit that deals with informing the media about committees' work.
"Chairpersons are not media people. They should be focusing on oversight and making sure that legislation is given the necessary attention," he said.
All but one chair of the oversight committees are ANC members. The exception is the leader of the African People's Convention, Themba Godi, who chairs the key public accounts committee, which acts as Parliament's watchdog over the way taxpayers' money is spent by the executive.
The Press Gallery Association welcomed the training, but also questioned the timing.
The association's Joylene van Wyk said there have been many complaints from journalists about a lack of co-operation from committee chairs, a matter the association has raised with Parliament over the past three years.
"We have consistently said that chairpersons need to get a better understanding of the work of journalists in Parliament, especially in committees."
Spokesperson for the ANC parliamentary caucus Moloto Mothapo said the training was a step in the right direction to give members skills to communicate the work of Parliament effectively.
"More than 1 000 transformative pieces of legislation that are meant to transform material conditions of the people have been passed by this Parliament. Who are the better spokespeople to do this [communication] than the chairs who preside over these machines of Parliament?"