Cape Town - The fact that the African National Congress has now, through a party statement, distanced National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete from an earlier official Parliament communication demonstrates its desperation to clean up the mess she has created, the Democratic Alliance said on Saturday.
“The public should not be fooled. That was a statement issued in the name of the Speaker and one finds it hard to believe it was issued without her knowledge and consideration,” DA chief whip John Steenhuisen said.
Earlier on Saturday, Mbete distanced herself from the statement issued by Parliament on her decision to return former public protector Thuli Madonsela's “state capture” report, claiming the statement was “grossly inaccurate”.
“This morning [Saturday] ANC chief whip cde Jackson Mthembu had discussion with the Speaker of the National Assembly Ms Baleka Mbete regarding the purported decision to return the report handed to her by former public protector adv Thuli Madonsela for safekeeping until the new public protector comes into office,” Mthembu's office said in a statement.
“The Speaker has categorically distanced herself from the grossly inaccurate statement issued by the parliamentary communications services as its contents neither represent her view nor her instruction to the staff of Parliament on the matter.”
Mbete had confirmed that indeed the report, as requested, was currently being kept under lock and key in Parliament and would be handed over to incoming Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane without delay when she assumed office on Monday, Mthembu's office said.
On Friday night, Parliament said in a statement Mbete was returning the final report given to her on Friday by Madonsela on investigations into allegations of state capture by the wealthy and politically-connected Gupta family.
Parliament said Mbete received a letter from Madonsela on Friday requesting that she preserve and keep the report on state capture safe until her successor assumed office.
“The Speaker has an obligation in terms of the rules of the assembly to table all documents received for the information of Members [of Parliament] in order to ensure that the business of the assembly is conducted in an open and transparent manner. This report, however, cannot be handled in the same manner. The report will accordingly be returned to the office of the public protector,” the statement said.
Steenhuisen said Mbete's conduct in attempting to return the report may have been unlawful and demonstrated a blatant and condemnable disregard for this Chapter Nine institution and the extremely important report it had compiled. Section 8 (2A)(b) of the Public Protector Act made it clear that a report tabled with Parliament need not immediately be made public if the public protector was of the opinion that report should remain confidential in “exceptional circumstances”.
The DA believed that given the pending interdict hearings next month such conditions had been met.
“Regardless, there are several reports in the possession of the Speaker that have taken months to be tabled in the ATC [Parliament's announcements, tablings, and committee reports document]. There is no reason why the Speaker, in the interest of supporting this office, could have kept it safe until such stage as the matter was resolved in the courts next month.
“Furthermore, even if the Speaker did not want to exercise her discretion in this regard, once a final report is tabled before her office, the Public Protector's Act comes into effect and determines how it should be handed. The return of a report is not set out in the act.
“There seems to be a bizarre assumption by Parliament that this report will somehow change. It is a final report, signed off by the public protector of South Africa. This report, in its current form, will remain exactly the same. The only option available to those who disagree with it is to take it on review before a court.
“Again Baleka Mbete has opted to wear her hat as ANC chairperson instead of the Speaker of the National Assembly. Her dismissive attitude to what is a report of significant public importance demonstrates Parliament's continued disregard for accountability and lack of interest in supporting institutions which strengthen our democracy.”
The DA would on Sunday announce further steps in ensuring this report was made public and would not allow the ANC to once again frustrate the functioning of the public protector's office in a bid to protect President Jacob Zuma from answering for his conduct, Steenhuisen said.
African News Agency