Mr Henro Msiza Kruger (DA)

1. What is your political background? How did you come to join your political party and become an MP?

My political career started in about 2004. I was a businessman before then. I ran a few businesses and was also the President of the World Bank Chamber of Commerce. Clive Hatch used to be a Member of my Executive Committee. Clive Hatch was the DA's Provincial Leader at the time. One night around the braai and a few beers, we talked about politics and that ignited my interest in politics. I later became a Ward Councilor for the DA in 2006. I served on the Emakhazeni Council from 2006 to 2014. Fortunately, the DA chose me to represent them in the Parliament in 2014. I served on the Portfolio Committee for Small Businesses in the Fifth Parliament and I still serve on the same Committee in the Sixth Parliament.

2. What does your job as an MP entail? What do you enjoy about being an MP?

The first part of my duty is oversight over the Department of Small Business Development and government. I enjoy being on the Committee for Small Businesses because that is where my passion lies. I like to help my people in Emakhazeni to solve their problems, as much as I can, and I let them know what is happening in the Parliament. Overall, I love to serve my community.

3. What are your or your party's aspirations/plans for the Sixth Parliament?

In the Fifth Parliament, I introduced a Private Members' Bill called the 'Red tape' Reduction Bill, which for some reasons was thought undesirable by the Committee. My passion is still to review Red tape in South Africa because the greatest obstacle to business development in the country is Red tape. I'm going to reintroduce it again. I am just going to change it a little bit. I did a lot of research over the past five years in Parliament and I think I'm better equipped to introduce a Bill to combat Red tape. For the short term, I'll keep myself very busy with combatting red tape and after I reintroduce the Private Members' Bill, I will of course keep busy with getting more entrepreneurs into small businesses, especially in the informal sector of small businesses because that is my passion. For the next four to five years, I will try to facilitate business friendly environment so that small businesses, both formal and informal, can prosper.

4. What obstacles prevent Parliament from doing its work and how would you fix it?

Well, politics is politics. I'm not saying politics prevents Parliament from doing its work. The diversity of political philosophy can help to provide solution to most of the problems confronting the people of the country, especially the poor. A major obstacle is the massive division that exists within the governing party. Our President, Cyril Ramaphosa, cannot do his job because of the factions in his party. ANC is not the problem but the criminal elements in the party, who are the ones that decide the direction of the country. We need to create a business environment that supports the economy of South Africa. The criminal elements are hampering economic development. We need to make sure that our communities get the best from the government and taxpayers' money. The Zondo Commission reveals how much of taxpayers' money went into private pockets. The Ministers do not ensure that poor people benefit from taxpayers' money. There is a big problem whenever a government refuses to cater for the poor. Government should use taxpayers' money to bring the poor out of the hole of poverty.

5. Which Constituency Office have you been assigned to? Can you give examples of Constituency work you engaged in?

My party assigned me to the Emakhazeni rural constituency. At the moment, I am concentrating on Kluver town. The community is part of Mahatlani and it appears the municipal authority has totally forgotten the area. So I'm trying to get the municipality to give the people of Kluver the services they deserve. There is a huge water crisis in Emakhazeni at the moment. We are working on solutions to the problem. There is also a refuse removal problem, which has health implications. I am working very hard to solve that problem. I sent out a petition in the town so that we can get the municipality to explain itself before the Portfolio Committee on Environment. They need to explain why they are not removing the refuse as per legislation. I'm busy getting information about corrupt government officials. Emakhazeni is one of the most indebted municipality in the country. It owes up to R3 billion to Eskom. The people pay the money but corrupt officials do not remit the money to Eskom. I'm really working hard to solve the problem. I also inform people about the work we do in Parliament.

6. Does Parliament do a good job of holding the Executive to account? If not, what can be done to improve this?

The role of Parliament to hold the Executive to account is getting better. Former President Jacob Zuma made a mockery of holding the Executive to account. But I feel Parliament did a better job to hold the Executive accountable at the beginning of the Fifth Parliament. All the opposition parties played a huge role. They asked the President serious questions about what goes on in certain clusters. My only challenge is that Ministers and Deputy Ministers are not always available to answer Members' statements. Members' statements present MPs with an opportunity to share what happens in their constituency with the Executive. I acknowledge that Cabinet meetings usually clash with Parliament’s program but the Deputy Minister, at least, should be present in meetings to address Members' statement. They cost taxpayers enormous amounts of money. The Minister of Small Business Development does not have up to 30% attendance of Committee meetings. I don't know if they are 100% loyal to the people of South Africa.

7. Are you happy with the proportional representation system or are you in favor of electoral reform?

I am in favour of a combined system, where half of the MPs are directly elected and the other half is assigned by the party. People are more committed to their electorate if directly elected. On the other hand, people are more loyal to the party in proportional representation system. There are some people who see Parliament as a job creation opportunity. They use their positions as party heads to appoint family members as MPs. The country cannot practice 100% electoral system because it will negatively affect the minority.

8. What can be done to get citizens more interested/ involved in Parliament? Is this an area where Parliament can improve and if so, what recommendations do you have? What are you passionate about? This applies both in political/ professional arena as well as personally?

People were not interested, at all, in Parliament prior to the Fifth Parliament. People got more interested in Parliament in the Fifth Parliament, especially due to the activities of the circus, whose negativity far outweighs the benefits. People started to watch the Parliament not to get information but for entertainment. The circus has brought much disrespect to Parliament. Nevertheless, people now have a better understanding of how the country is run. They can see how MPs answer questions in the Parliament. On a personal level, I tried to convince people to watch the activities in Parliament. Most members of the public hardly know what happens in the Committee for Small Business Development because there is no TV coverage. The Committee has the responsibility create an environment where small businesses can thrive and this would boost job creation. I cannot remember any occasion where our meeting received a TV coverage. Personally, I'm passionate about clover. I am a passionate clover breeder and collector. I have got thousands of different colours. Clover is an indigenous plant and you can only get it in nature in South Africa, but the whole world is captured by clover. Most of the big breeders are from Japan and China. The diversity of colour is unbelievable. I also enjoy cooking. I relieve stress when I stand in front of the stove. In my political career, I am passionate about businesses, especially small businesses. I aim to create an environment where small businesses can prosper and the only way to do that is to reduce the red-tape. I'm a red tape fanatic. I just finished my dissertation. I have been on it for the past three weeks and I'm waiting for the result of my Masters in Business Administration (MBA). I believe it will go well.

9. What is your message to South Africa?

The Rugby World Cup did so much for our nation. It was a sign that there is hope for South Africa. South Africans want this country to work. We must just pull together and not give up. We must follow the rule of law, which includes property right, because we cannot live in chaos. We must utilise the opportunities that must be created by the government and use those opportunities to improve our lives. We must be morally strong. We must respect individuals next to us irrespective of differences in race, religion and sexual orientation, among others. The nation will improve a lot if we respect fellow South Africans. Then we must vote. If you don't vote, then you must shut. End of story. No complaint. You take what you get. Everybody needs to vote for people who can make their lives better. They should also hold their leaders accountable.