A Minister shall not be elected as Chairman of any Standing Committee. If a member who is Chairman is subsequently appointed as a Minister or Parliamentary Secretary, they automatically cease to be Chairman. The relevant Standing Committee must then elect a new Chairman.
Why it matters for the National Assembly proceedings?
A Minister chairing the committee that oversees their own ministry would be the subject of scrutiny and its chair simultaneously — a structural conflict of interest that would make oversight meaningless. This rule is fundamental to the committees’ independence from the executive they are meant to hold accountable.
What is in it for citizens?
For citizens monitoring parliamentary oversight, checking whether the Chairman of a Standing Committee has a conflict of interest — specifically, whether they have been appointed to a ministry since becoming chairman — is a basic verification. Any situation where a minister chairs their own oversight committee represents a direct violation of this rule and compromises the entire committee’s accountability function.
Source: Rule 216, Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007
The proceedings of the National Assembly are governed by the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007. The current rules were passed on 23 February 2007 and have since been amended 21 times, most recently on 22 October 2024.
This post is part of FAFEN’s series on parliamentary literacy. Read more of this series here
