The DA wants the Public Service Commission (PSC) to launch an inquiry into the attendance by government officials at meetings of ANC study groups in parliament. The study groups comprise ANC MPs who are members of different portfolio committees. They meet to work out a common approach to legislation and state-owned entities. The DA gained insight into the practice of state officials attending study group meetings through replies to parliamentary questions by ministers. The portfolio committee on public service and administration will also be asked by the DA to investigate the matter. The PSC is an independent constitutional body tasked with maintaining an effective, efficient and ethical public administration.DA parliamentary leader George Michalakis said in a statement on Tuesday that the attendance by officials from state departments at ANC study group meetings was in contravention of the constitution and the public service code. “Section 195(1) of the constitution states that the public service is governed by principles that include a service that is impartial, fair and without bias,” he said.“The code of conduct for the public service requires that all employees shall not abuse their position in the public service to promote or prejudice the interest of any political party or interest group; they must avoid conflicts of interest and refrain from party political activities in the workplace. It is also a serious violation of the principle of separation of party and state. “This is a further symptom of decades of ANC cadre deployment that has hollowed out the public service. The DA will relentlessly go after officials who are meant to be politically neutral and that have made themselves guilty of such misconduct,” Michalakis said. He said that though the DA understands that public service officials can, in the course of exercising their duties, from time to time provide technical answers in an impartial way, the present status of the ANC’s study groups crosses the line.“Using it as a tool to drive a political agenda and include such officials in political discussions (was wrong).” Replies to DA questions revealed that at least 20 senior officials in the department of water & sanitation ― including the director-general, CFO, deputy director-generals and chief directors attended a total of 16 study group meetings with MPs from the ANC since the start of the seventh parliament in 2024. Public works & infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson, after receiving tip-offs about the practice, issued a directive in 2024 to ensure that no official attended such study groups. The directive was reissued in May 2026. Michalakis said several ministers, including the ministers of transport, women youth and persons with disabilities and small business development, sought in their responses to DA questions to address the issue “by falsely claiming that they have no responsibility. The DA is still awaiting responses from several departments.”