Speaker Must Make Schafer Pay Back Full Amount to the People of the Western Cape
13 December 2022
ActionSA notes that the Western Cape Provincial Legislature’s Ethics Committee has ordered the Deputy Speaker, Beverley Schafer, pay back R18 000 out of the R158, 297.86 in fruitless and wasteful expenditure she accrued while unduly using an X5 to which she was not entitled.
This is an unacceptable slap on the wrist for her contemptuous approach to government prescripts.
As such ActionSA will today write to the newly appointed Speaker of the Western Cape Legislature, Daylin Mitchell, requesting that he compel his Deputy, Beverley Schafer, to pay back the full amount of R158 297.86 to the Western Cape Government within 7 days.
This is consistent with the recommendation made in the State Attorney’s report that the Speaker, in his capacity as the Executive Authority of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, must recover the fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounting to R158,297.86 from the Deputy Speaker, Ms Schafer.
ActionSA is aware that Ms Schafer intends to take the Western Cape Legislature’s Ethics Committee report on review but not that of the State Attorney- which still has force and effect. Consequently, the Speaker is well within his rights to compel Ms Schafer to pay back the money in full.
Should Ms Schafer indicate that she will take the State Attorney’s report on review, she must explain to the people of the Western Cape why she has waited more than a year to do so as the State Attorney’s report was completed on 31 August 2021.
Should Mr Mitchell fail to accede to our request, he will, in effect, be making himself and the Western Cape Government complicit in fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
This flies directly in the face of the DA government’s much-vaunted commitment to good governance.
The DA in the Western Cape has been given an opportunity to now demonstrate that commitment. They must act.
Statement issued by Michelle Wasserman, ActionSA Western Cape Provincial Chairperson, 13 December 2022
