NCOP subdued as Members sworn in, Chairperson elected

Parliament’s second House, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), held it’s first sitting today, 22 May, where 54 permanent delegates representing their respective provinces were sworn in. Unlike yesterday’s lengthy and robust first sitting of the National Assembly (NA), the NCOP sitting proved to be more sedate, with the entire swearing in process as well as the elections of the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and Chief Whip of the NCOP concluding in just less than two hours.

Once the swearing in process closed, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, who presided over the sitting, called for nominations for Chairperson of the NCOP. The new premier of the North West province, Supra Mahumapelo, nominated his predecessor, Thandi Ruth Modise. Unlike yesterday, the opposition did not oppose the nomination and Modise was elected Chairperson of the NCOP.

Honourable Raseriti Tau was elected as Deputy Chairperson and Honourable Hunadi Mateme was elected the Chief Whip of the NCOP. They thanked delegates for the opportunity to serve the NCOP, with Mateme saying that this was “a responsibility, which in all honesty, I must confess, I have no idea what happens here”, but adding that she was humbled by the responsibility and she would join the Chairperson in “contributing to making the lives of our people better. Together we are going to move South Africa forward like never before.”

All the nominations were unopposed, which was a far cry from yesterday when the DA put up an alternative candidate for the position of Speaker and objected to Jacob Zuma’s nomination as President of the Republic.

During newly elected Chairperson Modise’s speech, she stated that she was grateful for the work previous Chairperson of the NCOP, Mninwa Mahlangu, had done “in making this House respected” and she is committed to taking this forward. In the past NCOP members have been vocal about not being taken as seriously. If social media can be used as yardstick to determine whether an issue is noteworthy, then it would seem that the NCOP has a long way to go as its first sitting seemed to fly under the radar, with barely anyone talking about it. Being the go-to place for up to date information, the Twitter-verse was noticeably quiet on the matter. By contrast the NA’s first setting was trending throughout the day, however it should be pointed out that much of the attention was as a result of the antics of the EFF.

Regardless, Modise said that the NCOP looked forward to having better relationships between the House and provinces, and she urged permanent delegates from all parties to “unite behind the pursuit of better responses to vexing challenges that are facing our people.”

“The NCOP has a unique and important role to play in South Africa’s constitutional democracy. It represents provinces to ensure that provincial interests are taken into account in the national sphere of government,” she said.