in 1994 he was included in the ifp delegation of mps which were part of the first post-apartheid parliament. in his fifteen years as an mp he was the economics spokesperson for the ifp and served on the finance and public accounts committees. the highlights of his parliamentary career included chairing the committee which produced the public finance management act of 1999 (pfma) and having chaired the standing committee on public accounts (scopa) during the second democratic parliament. his enthusiasm for stamping out corruption and improving the value-for-money activities of government however saw increasing tensions between him and senior members of the ruling party.