DA announces MPs to serve on Nkandla ad hoc committee

Note to editors: The following press statement was released at a press conference in Parliament hosted by DA Parliamentary Leader, Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, DA Chief Whip, Watty Watson MP, and Chairperson of the DA Federal Executive, James Selfe MP. 

The DA welcomes the decision by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu, to accede to our request and establish a special ad hoc committee to investigate the Nkandla scandal. 

This is a victory for parliament, for the constitution and for accountability. Indeed, it sends a message to all of the people who elected us that parliament is more than just a place for political debate. It is a powerful institution that can come to the defence of South Africans when their best interests are being abused.

This is what the ad hoc committee must now do in the weeks ahead. We must flex our muscles to force answers from all implicated parties in this matter, including President Zuma. 

We must be told how it is that R246 million of public money was spent on one man's private home, without anyone acting to stop it - most of all - the homeowner himself.

And once we have these answers, we must move decisively to ensure that all those who have violated the constitution and the law are accordingly and appropriately held accountable by the National Assembly.

This is what the DA has been trying to achieve for nearly two years. It is why I reported this egregious corruption to the Public Protector in September 2012. 

It is the reason that the DA did not let this matter die and has kept asking questions every month since then.

And it is the reason that I tabled a motion to remove the President, in terms of Section 89 of the Constitution, following the damning findings of the Public Protector's report.

Given the importance of the work of the committee, the pace at which it must work and the implications it has for both the constitution and for the reputation of the National Assembly, I have decided to appoint the strongest possible DA team to this committee.

As Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, and as the MP who requested the formation of this committee, I will be serving on the Nkandla inquiry.

I will be accompanied by my highly experienced colleague, James Selfe MP, who is the Chairperson of the DA's Federal Executive, and DA Shadow Minister of Correctional Services. Mr Selfe has enormous experience in the handling of Public Protector Reports, and represented the DA on the last such ad hoc committee. 

I am confident that he will add extensive experience and expertise to the DA's representation on this committee.

Lastly, given the urgency of the work that must be completed on this committee before Parliament rises, I have also decided to appoint an alternate member who will assist the team. The DA's formidable Federal Chairperson and DA Parliamentary Caucus Chair, Dr Wilmot James MP, will assume this role. 

I can guarantee all concerned South Africans that together we will work tirelessly and with determination to ensure that every question is answered and that all those responsible for the corruption at Nkandla are held accountable.

The committee will have significant powers to do just this. In terms of Rule 138, the ad hoc committee will be empowered to:

a) Summon any person to appear before it to give evidence on oath or affirmation, or to produce documents;

b) Receive petitions, representations or submissions from interested persons or institutions;

c) Conduct public hearings;

d) Permit oral evidence on petitions, representation, submissions, and any other matter before the committee;

e) Determine its own procedure;

f) Meet at a venue determined by it, which may be a venue beyond the seat of Parliament;

g) Meet on any day and at any time, including:

on a day which is not a working day

on a day on which the Assembly is not sitting; 

at a time when the Assembly is sitting; or during recess 

h) Exercise any other powers assigned to it by the Constitution, legislation, the other provisions of the rules or resolutions of the Assembly.

With reference to (h), the DA believes the committee must be fully empowered to apply its mind to our motion requesting that it investigate whether the President should be removed from office in terms of Section 89 of the Constitution. This is the first step in the impeachment proceedings against President Zuma. 

We will therefore push for a determination on the following key questions:

Whether the President violated the Constitution;

Whether the President violated the law;

Whether the President is guilty of serious misconduct;

Whether the President deliberately misled Parliament on Nkandla.

It is essential that the committee fully consider these matters and makes a recommendation to the Assembly in this regard.

For clarity, I will write to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu, to ascertain whether the House will be recalled once the committee has finalised its deliberations for all such recommendations to be considered, including the question of whether the President should be removed from office in terms of Section 89 of the Constitution. 

To obtain answers to the questions above, the DA intends to push for the committee to make use of all its powers. The President and all implicated ministers must be summoned to testify.

All documentation, including the Public Protector's questions which the President refused to answer - such as whether he received a progress update letter in November 2010, as well as copies of his Bond - must be subpoenaed.

In the end, this committee's report must tell South Africans the truth. We will do everything possible to ensure that this happens.

The DA will request that the committee begin work as a matter of urgency. There is little time to consider a large amount of information. I trust that the Speaker and the ANC Chief Whip appreciate this time constraint.

This will be a defining moment of our democratic Parliament. The best interests of all South Africans, as well as the National Assembly's reputation, are at stake. 

We must not falter at this crucial moment. The DA, and our team on the ad hoc committee, will work harder than ever before to ensure that every South African gets the answers they deserve.

Statement issued by Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, Parliamentary Leader of the Democratic Alliance, April 10 2014

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