Interim Reports: Defence committee caves in to political pressure from Sisulu

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply disappointed that the majority of members of the portfolio committee on defence and military veterans caved in to political pressure and decided to proceed with deliberations on important defence legislation despite not receiving the reports of the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission.

The portfolio committee this morning decided to proceed with deliberations on important defence legislation after considering the contents of a letter from Max Sisulu, Speaker of the National Assembly, dated 02 September 2010, in which he argued that there is no reason for the committee to suspend deliberations on the Defence Amendment Bill.

The majority of members of the portfolio committee seem to have caved in to political pressure in a three-pronged attack from the:

• Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Lindiwe Sisulu, who argued that there was no link between the reports and the legislation;

• Speaker of the National Assembly Max Sisulu, who without having sight of the reports uncritically accepted the view of the minister and advised the portfolio committee that there was no reason to suspend deliberations on the legislation; and 

• and most importantly from Tony Yengeni, Chairperson of the ANC NEC's Sub-Committee on Peace and Stability, who in effect threatened ruling party members of the portfolio committee with disciplinary action.

One suspects that Tony Yengeni's less than veiled threat that the actions of ruling party members of the portfolio committee "border on ill-discipline" proved decisive in engineering what amounts to a political surrender by the portfolio committee on defence and military veterans.

The bottom line is that this may be a victory for the minister but it is a defeat for our constitutional democracy.

Statement issued by David Maynier, MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of defence and military veterans, September 15 2010

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