2026: From Watching to Doing — Can Parliament Make Oversight Count?

As South Africa steps into 2026, Parliament finds itself in unfamiliar but promising territory. For the first time since 1994, no single party holds the reins alone. The Government of National Unity (GNU), formed after the 2024 elections, was more than a political compromise; it was a message from voters. South Africans want accountability that goes beyond speeches, exposés and performative outrage. They want consequences.

OUTA’s latest Parliamentary Oversight Report (POR), published in October 2025, paints a clear picture of where Parliament stands as the second year of the 7th Parliament term nears its conclusion: more active, more visible, more data-driven but still struggling to turn scrutiny into real change. This is where ParliMeter comes in. 

A busier Parliament, but is it a stronger one?

On paper, Parliament is working hard. Between June 2024 and July 2025, MPs clocked more than 1,100 committee meetings, submitted thousands of parliamentary questions, and conducted many oversight visits across the country. Committees are engaging, ministers are being questioned, and reports are being written.

However, the POR asks an uncomfortable question: does activity equal accountability?

ParliMeter data suggests not always. Attendance patterns vary widely. Follow-up on committee resolutions is inconsistent. Oversight visits regularly uncover serious governance failures — yet too often, the same problems reappear months later, unchanged. In short, Parliament is watching government closely, but it is not always acting decisively on what it sees.

The GNU effect: shared power, shared responsibility or diluted accountability?

The GNU has undoubtedly shifted the culture of Parliament. Debates are sharper. Committee chairs know they can no longer rely on party majorities to shield weak performance. Cross-party cooperation, especially on audit outcomes and municipal oversight, is becoming more common.

This is a real opportunity.

The GNU has undoubtedly shifted the culture of Parliament. Debates are sharper. Committee chairs know they can no longer rely on party majorities to shield weak performance.

But the POR also warns of a risk: when accountability belongs to everyone, it can end up belonging to no one. Collaboration should deepen scrutiny, not soften it. Consensus should not become an excuse for delay. If the GNU is to succeed, Parliament must be willing to enforce consequences even when that means discomfort across party lines.

Follow the money and the consequences

One of the clearest messages from the Oversight Report is this: financial mismanagement remains one of Parliament’s weakest pressure points.

Irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure continues across major public entities like Eskom, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and the Road Accident Fund (RAF). While problems are well documented, sanctions are rare and slow.

OUTA’s recommendation is blunt: Parliament must start linking budgets to performance. That means:

1. Tracking remedial action plans after negative audit outcomes
2. Demanding quarterly progress updates from accounting officers
3. Freezing bonuses and incentives where mismanagement persists
4. Escalating chronic failures to Scopa and law enforcement

Transparency without consequence does not rebuild public trust; it erodes it.

Skills gaps, empty posts, real-world impact

Oversight is not just about corruption; it is also about capacity. Chronic vacancies in various departments such as health, policing, education and infrastructure continue to undermine service delivery on the ground.

The POR calls on Parliament to stop treating vacancies as background noise. Committees should be asking hard questions: Who is not being hired? Why? How long have posts been vacant? And what is the impact on communities?

With the National Framework towards the Professionalisation of the Public Sector now largely rolled out, 2026 is the year Parliament must insist that professionalisation moves from policy to practice.

Infrastructure: where oversight must leave the committee room

From broken rail corridors to stalled housing projects and failing water systems, infrastructure is where parliamentary oversight becomes real for citizens. Although we have noted an increase in more visible and frequent oversight visits, there is still an absence of proper follow-through and appropriate sanction for continued non-performance. The report recommends tougher, more visible oversight: regular site visits, published findings, and clear deadlines for fixing problems. If departments miss those deadlines, Parliament must escalate and demand resolution, and not repeat the same questions next quarter. 

Data, technology and the ParliMeter promise

One of Parliament’s most underused assets is data. Platforms like ParliMeter show what is possible when oversight information is made visible, comparable and accessible.

Attendance records, question responses, and committee activity are not just statistics. They are signals of performance. In 2026, Parliament has an opportunity to normalise live oversight trackers, digital scorecards and real-time follow-up tools that citizens can see and use.

Transparency works best when it is easy to understand and impossible to ignore.

Rebuilding trust means opening the doors wider

Public participation has improved, but frustration remains high. Too many bills are delayed. Too many hearings feel symbolic. Too often, citizens speak and then hear nothing back.

The POR argues for deeper, more structured engagement with civil society, including formal advisory panels and expanded public hearings on major reforms like the National Health Insurance (NHI), electoral law and whistleblower protection.

Trust is rebuilt when people see that participation changes outcomes.

From scrutiny to enforcement

The story of the 7^th Parliament so far is one of potential held back by habit. Parliament has the constitutional authority, the public mandate, and increasingly, the data to hold power to account.

What it needs now is RESOLUTION. 

As OUTA’s Oversight Report makes clear, democracy does not fail because we lack information. It fails when we lack follow-through. In 2026, the real test for Parliament is whether it can move decisively from watching government to holding it accountable consistently, visibly and without fear or favour. 

This is once again a pivotal year for South Africa, as we are looking ahead towards the Local Government elections later in the year. ParliMeter will be watching. More importantly, so will South Africans.