READER LETTER | Legislators should know the laws

File photo.
File photo.
Image: 123RF/Evgenyi Lastochkin

Our government loses many court cases because some elected officials cannot understand the laws they’ve made. Matric should be a mandatory requirement for legislators.

Furthermore, appointed executives such as ministers, MECs, MMCs and committee chairs should be subjected to intensive training on the laws related to their portfolios. All policymakers should undergo annual competence tests to assess their skills in general knowledge of the rules. Failure to pass would mean the legislators’ membership must be promptly terminated and by-elections conducted for lost seats.

Such action could mean that sleeping on the job, absenteeism, heckling, guffawing and praise-singing behaviour may be curbed. Also, maybe, just maybe, petty political point-scoring can be minimised or eliminated.

The MPs, MPLs and councillors are fairly remunerated and value for money is justifiably expected from them. – Thami Zwane, Edenvale

SowetanLIVE


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