Deputy President David Mabuza avoided answering any questions meaningfully in Parliament on Wednesday, instead resorting to vague, off-the-point responses and, in one instance, according to opposition MPs, an outright lie.
The accusation came after Mabuza dodged having to respond to a question about proposals to nationalise the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) by claiming that rating agency Moody's had not made mention of that institution in its rating of the country's investment grade — but that simply isn't true.
The deputy president and leader of government business refused to indulge a DA question asking whether he supports proposals to review the mandate of the SARB during his Q-and-A session in Parliament. National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete came to his aid, shutting down insistent DA MPs pressuring Mabuza for an answer.
The original question was posed by the ANC's Elsie Coleman. She asked what the current sentiment of international investors was with regard to confidence in our economy, following an announcement in March this year by Moody's on the economic outlook for South Africa.
In a supplementary question, the DA's David Maynier asked whether the deputy president supported proposals to nationalise the SARB and review its mandate, especially as the credit rating agency quoted the independence of the SARB as critical in sustaining its investment grade.
South Africa escaped a third junk rating in March, when Moody's investors' service kept its assessment of the nation's debt unchanged, further revising the nation's outlook from negative to stable.
"I can see you taking your luck on this question; it's a new question. We are looking at the comments made by these institutions [Moody's], and at no stage [had] these institutions reflected on the Reserve Bank," Mabuza claimed. "They reflected on institutions that in their mind were regressing, and they are happy now that it looks like we are reversing the tide; not only the Reserve Bank."
"So I'm not going to comment on the Reserve Bank, unfortunately."
However, in its review, Moody's made special mention of the SARB.
The review reads: "The technical strength and independence of South Africa's media, civil society and institutions, including key ministries, the Reserve Bank and the judiciary, have been critical in sustaining the country's credit profile over time."
Maynier was quick to point this out, but Mbete was quicker to jump to Mabuza's defence.
"The deputy president said he is not commenting on the Reserve Bank, and I would therefore like to move ... If you insist that you want him to comment on something he has already indicated he will not do, let us pursue the matter after this session ... I wish to ask you to desist from pursuing this matter. Shall we move and pursue the issue outside the sitting?" she said.
The opposition benches raised questions over Mbete purposefully blocking oversight and accountability. They accused Mabuza of "telling an outright lie".
Mabuza's evasiveness was seen in other responses. He has perfected the art of providing information already in the public domain, without giving much more away.
The IFP's Narend Singh, in a supplementary question, asked when the board-appointment framework for various state-owned enterprises and state organs announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa will be finalised.
The deputy president resorted to a vague explanatory response that completely ignored the point of the question; namely, the timeframe.
"We have been assured by the minister that they are in a process of developing those guidelines," he said. "We are talking of a council that will be above those boards to look at their operations on a daily basis... to look at whether board members are doing their work as required, or that they do attend meetings of the board as required, because some board members don't attend. Thank you."