The Joint Standing Committee on Defence meeting was a disgrace

The meeting of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence on the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to the Central African Republic (CAR) was a disgrace.

The fact is that today, the committee was a national and international embarrassment.

The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, led the briefing and was available to respond to most questions from Members of Parliament. 

However, Jerome Maake, chairperson of the committee, who was remote controlled by the ANC's deputy chief whip Mmamaloko Kubayi, tried desperately to make sure that the hard questions were suppressed, and eventually that the meeting was closed.

This was clearly an attempt by the ANC's chief whip, Mathole Motshekga, who was also ominously present at the meeting, to politically manage the "CAR situation" in Parliament.

The fact is that the Joint Standing Committee on Defence does not have the capacity to properly investigate the SANDF's disastrous deployment in the CAR. 

This reinforces the point that what is required is the establishment of an ad hoc committee, comprising of members of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation, as well as the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, to investigate the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to the Central African Republic (CAR).

Statement issued by David Maynier MP, DA Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, April 4 2013

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter