Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbite by George Michalakis MP.
The DA notes Parliament’s overreaction in attempting to justify the appointment of Nceba Mqoqi as CFO and I challenge the Secretary to take the necessary legal steps against us if there were any defamatory remarks made against him or Mr Moqiqi.
In the process, the Secretary should then also provide proof that he did not preside over the panel that appointed his former SALGA CFO to Parliament, whether any chartered accountants, the preferred qualification for financial managers at this level, were interviewed and, if so, why Mqoqi was preferred over them.
To ensure full transparency, the Secretary can then also take the public into his confidence and explain how and why, whilst Mr Mqoqi was CFO at SALGA from 2012, George’s salary went from R2,4 million (approx R250 000 below that of the President at the time) to R4,4 million in 2019 (approx R500 000 more than that of the President at the time) by the time that Mqoqi left. We do grant that George’s salary continued to increase at SALGA thereafter still.
It is undeniable that there are questions around George’s salary and Mqoqi’s appointment that should be answered, and by deflecting from it, Parliament is not doing itself or the public any favours.
If those at the helm of Parliament crave transparency, let’s be fully transparent.