OUTA report reveals MPs 'working harder' but accountability still lacking

THE Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says while South Africa's 7th Parliament has become more active, its oversight efforts still lack consequence.

- SIPHESIHLE BUTHELEZI

Releasing its 7th annual Parliamentary Oversight Report yesterday, titled The Review Nobody Escapes, OUTA said the new Parliament has "the tools, constitutional authority, public backing and multiparty legitimacy essential to rebuilding trust in democratic institutions. What it needs now is the will to act with conviction.

The 2025 report assesses how effectively Parliament is fulfilling its constitutional duty to hold the executive to account, drawing on data from the ParliMeter dashboard developed by OUTA, the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) and OpenUp, with funding from the European Union.

According to OUTA, between June 2024 and June 2025, parliamentary committees held 1 165 meetings, nearly double the number recorded in the final years of the 6th Parliament, and MPs submitted more than 6 700 written questions.

However, "only about one-third were answered within deadline," the report states.

"Parliament is working harder, but not necessarily smarter," OUTA said.

It said oversight remains often too reactive rather than preventive.