Minister of Public Works no-show: DA to summon Minister to committee

There is no excuse for Minister Mahlangu-Nkabinde's "no-show" at the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Works this morning, where she was due to account for her role in the SAPS lease scandal. This comes the day after the Minister missed a deadline to respond to the Public Protector's report that raised serious questions about her involvement in the deals.

I will today write to the Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Catherine Mabuza, to exercise the committee's powers to summon the Minister to appear before the committee as per subsection 138(a) of the rules of the National Assembly, which states that:

"For the purposes of performing its functions a committee may, subject to the constitution, legislation, the other provisions of these rules and resolutions of the assembly, summon any person to appear before it to give evidence on oath or affirmation, or to produce documents."

The Minister's reasoning that she could not attend the meeting due to "parliamentary processes" is flawed. Her excuse that the Public Protector's reports have been submitted to the Speaker is neither here nor there.

There is no rule that prevents the Minister from appearing before the Portfolio Committee. On the contrary, it is right and proper that the Portfolio Committee summons the Minister to explain why she signed off these lease agreements, despite legal opinions that she should not.

The Minister needs to answer several unanswered questions. 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?

The Minister's failure to meet the Public Protector's deadline, as well as her "no-show" in the National Assembly, suggest that she has something to hide. The South African public deserves a full explanation from the Minister as soon as possible. We will not rest until she is held to account.

Statement issued by John Steenhuisen MP , DA Shadow Minister of Public Works, August 16 2011

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