Hon Chairperson and hon Lees, as I have reported in the National Assembly, I'm concerned about the number of unanswered questions in both Houses of Parliament. Ministers had to report to me regarding the reasons for their failure to reply to a number of questions posed last year and indicate the steps that they were going to take to ensure that this did not reoccur. From this exercise, it became apparent that in certain cases capacity could be improved.
I table a report at each Cabinet meeting on the number of unanswered questions in both Houses. At the request of the Speaker of the National Assembly, I've also written to all Ministers with regard to unanswered questions from the first term. As Ministers are directly accountable to Parliament, it is also up to the House to discuss measures it should take to ensure that questions are answered.
The issue of responding to parliamentary questions was not included in the performance contracts of members of the executive, but it is a matter that could be considered when the performance contracts are reviewed next year. I've reason to believe that this issue is being addressed, and that very soon we will have fewer instances of questions remaining unanswered beyond due dates. Thank you.