DA urges Frolik to ensure Committee dealing with Muthambi corruption allegations goes ahead, despite ANC stalling

Issued by Sej Motau MP – DA Member of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration
22 Aug 2017 in News

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee meeting on Public Service and Administration scheduled for tomorrow, 23 August 2017, was cancelled late last night, with no reasons given.

This is clearly a move by the ANC committee members to close ranks around Minister Faith Muthambi to prevent her from accounting for the long list of corruption related scandals that she has been embroiled in.

The DA will, therefore, write to the Chair of Chairs, Cedric Frolick, to request that he ensures that the committee convenes and the meeting continues as scheduled tomorrow.

This meeting has been cancelled undoubtedly because last week, former Chairperson, Dr Makhosi Khoza, confirmed that the meeting was quorate and that there were enough members to make decisions.

A decision was taken by the Committee that both the Minister and her Director General should be summoned to appear before the Committee after they failed to show up, despite the Minister being in Cape Town that morning. Additionally, it was also decided that both the Minister and her Director General be held personally responsible for the costs associated with their absence at the Committee.

It has now become apparent that the ANC does not want to keep the Minister accountable and this cancellation is a blatant attempt to not enforce the previous meeting’s resolutions.

The Minister was invited by the former Chairperson, Dr Khosa, to account for:

  • Spending taxpayer money on transporting her family to watch her Parliamentary speech totalling more than R300 000 on the 15th of August 2017. Recent reports have stated that the figure may be as high as R500 000 which only confirm that this must be fully investigated by the committee so that the appropriate action can be taken against her.
  • Her bloated personal office totalling 27 people, despite the Ministerial Handbook only making provision for 10. The Minister has allegedly hired family and friends to her office including Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s 21-year-old daughter Lerato is now her admin assistant.

The ANC’s sudden removal of Dr Khoza as Committee Chair was to ensure that Muthambi can continue to act without consequences for flagrantly abusing taxpayers money.

However, we have a continued responsibility to keep the executive accountable no matter who the Chairperson or members are and this committee meeting must go ahead.