TSHWANE'S RULES AND ETHICS COMMITTEE IS USED BY THE ANC TO FURTHER POLITICAL GOALS RATHER THAN FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE

A Councillor from the official opposition party, the DA, asked a question in Council as to the merit of the Auditor General's report on the City's finances, and she was immediately referred to the Rules and Ethics Committee by the ANC in Council.

The ANC's report on the matter accuses the DA Councillor in question of undermining the integrity and credibility of the Auditor General.

On 24 February 2015, the DA asked the Chairperson of the Rules and Ethics Committee whether questioning the merit of the report is tantamount to undermining the integrity and credibility of the Auditor General. The DA did not receive an answer in this respect.

The assertion of the ANC is that the DA Councillor contravened section 181 (4) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa which states that no person or organ of state may interfere with the functioning of a Chapter 9 institution.

The hypocrisy of this assertion in light of the ANC and their affiliates' blatant attacking of the Public Protector and literally marching against her office, require no elaboration.

The Democratic Alliance repeatedly asked the ANC members of the Committee to read Section 51(1) of the Public Audit Act, which explicitly states that interference with the functioning of the Office of the Auditor General occurs only when a person:

1. Hinders or interferes with the Auditor General;

2. Refuses or fails to comply with a request of the Auditor General;

3. Contravenes section 50 of the Act which deals with the disclosure of information;

4. Furnishes false or misleading information when asked to comply with a request of the Auditor General.

The DA therefore asserts that our Councillor is not at fault and that Tshwane's Rules and Ethics Committee is being used to settle political scores. On many occasions, the Committee has been used to settle internal battles within the ANC.

When one studies law, the very first thing that one learns is that there are rules of natural justice. The first rule that is taught is "audi alteram partem" which is a Latin phrase that means "listen to the other side", or "let the other side be heard as well". It is the principle that no person should be judged without a fair hearing in which each party is given the opportunity to respond to the evidence against them. It is considered a principle of fundamental justice in most legal systems.

Whenever a Councillor representing the Democratic Alliance gets up in a City of Tshwane Council meeting and says something that the ANC does not like, an ANC Councillor immediately stands up and says, "Madam Speaker, this statement must be referred to the Rules and Ethics Committee."

As the Speaker of Council is a deployed ANC cadre, she agrees with every referral that is against a person who is not a card carrying member of the ANC.

The Rules and Ethics Committee is then convened a few weeks after the referral. The full contents of the agenda are usually one or two suggestions to "discipline" an opposition Councillor.

The Councillor whom the ANC wishes to discipline is never called to the meeting to present their side to the story. They are not even asked to provide written comments. There is no natural justice in the City of Tshwane's Rules and Ethics Committee.

The DA has raised this issue time and time again, but the ANC acts only as if they do not understand.

When this issue was raised at our Committee meeting on 24 February 2015, the Chairperson of the Committee simply looked at the agenda and calmly said, "yes, she (the accused person) was not invited to the meeting," without a bother in the world.

It is clear that this Committee is being used to wipe democracy clean off the political landscape in South Africa's capital city.

The State of the Nation address was a sign of a government hell-bent on literally fighting off accountability.

It appears that accountability and justice are ever dwindling in the actions of the ANC.

Isak Pietersen and Michael Shackleton, DA Councillors, Tshwane Metro

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