Alignment to the African National Congress (ANC) will not protect state-funded bodies from scrutiny by the committee charged with reviewing their relevance, its chairperson, Kader Asmal, warned on Tuesday.
”The committee will be objective and non-partisan,” he said, adding that there is not a majority of ANC members on the committee.
State-funded — or chapter nine — institutions include the Office of the Public Protector and the Commission on Gender Equality, which report directly to the Parliament.
The Parliament established the committee last year to review the ”effectiveness, efficiency and appropriateness” of the organisations amid mounting concerns at their relevance.
This will be the first review of their operations in ten years.
”After reviewing all the institutions, the committee will then submit a report to Parliament,” said Asmal
He said the committee will focus on, among other things, the quality of leadership, funding and Parliament’s oversight role. — Sapa