The DA in the Free State Legislature welcomes the two-day oversight visit by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to conduct the first of a number of enquiries together with the Free State Legislature on the Jagersfontein tailings dam disaster.
Cause for concern is that not a single ANC member of the Free State Legislature, nor any MEC’s or the Premier were present during the presentations by national departments. This implies that the joint efforts by the NCOP and the Free State Legislature were not able to interrogate the role of provincial government departments regarding their responses to the disaster. It was also a missed opportunity for them to interact with the NCOP, members of the legislature and national government departments on this issue.
ANC Members of the Legislature’s lack of interest in a disaster that has affected the province and the community of Jagersfontein in such a catastrophic manner is yet another indication that they have thrown in the towel regarding solutions to problems facing the people of the Free State.
The DA will continue to provide leadership in the legislature regarding the institutions role of insuring oversight and accountability, and assisting in the coordination of government efforts during disasters.
We hope that the ANC will show more interest in day two of this inquiry than they did on day one.