Minister Mahlangu-Nkabinde's second "no-show": what is she trying to hide?
Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde has notified the Portfolio Committee that she will not be appearing before it tomorrow as scheduled. She was due to respond to the Public Protector's findings against her for her role in the SAPS lease scandal.
This is her second "no-show" in two weeks.
The Minister owes the South African people an explanation, but she is doing her best to avoid answering the tough questions. One would imagine that, if she had done nothing wrong, she would welcome the opportunity to clear her name before the Committee as soon as possible. Instead, she is creating the inescapable impression that she has something to hide.
We call on the Minister to fulfill her constitutional obligations and appear before the Committee. By failing to do so, she is undermining Parliament's role in holding the Executive to account. As a former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, she should know better.
The DA fully intends to fulfill its obligation to protect the people of South Africa from power abuse. We will continue to ask the hard questions until we get the answers. These include:
1. Why did the Minister not fully cooperate with the Public Protector's investigation
2. Why did she approve the SAPS lease deals even after she had several legal opinions at her disposal indicating that doing so would be inappropriate?
3. Why did she approve the SAPS lease deals even though the rates weren't competitive?
4. Does the Minister, or anyone in her department, have personal or business relations with Roux Shabangu?
5. What is going to be done about the members of her departmental staff who have been implicated in the Public Protector's reports?
6. Why was the Minister maintaining contact with Roux Shabangu throughout the process of allocating the lease agreements?
Something is clearly amiss. We will get to truth of this matter, whether the Minister likes it or not.
Statement issued by John Steenhuisen MP, DA Shadow Minister of Public Works, August 29 2011
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