Cape Town - National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete on Saturday distanced herself from a statement issued by Parliament on the 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 a 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,” it said.
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.
“The speaker's handling of the matter in this regard is appropriate and is accordingly fully supported and appreciated by us. We are disappointed by the inaccurate statement by an official in the parliamentary communications services which created an erroneous notion in the media that the speaker has outrightly declined to take custody of the report,” 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.
In the statement Parliament said Mbete received a letter from Madonsela on Friday requesting that she preserve and keep the report safe until her successor assumes 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,” Parliament said.
“The report will accordingly be returned to the office of the public protector.”
According to the statement, Madonsela described the report as an “investigation into complaints of alleged improper and unethical conduct by the president and other state functionaries relating to alleged improper relationships and involvement of the Gupta family in the removal and appointment of ministers and directors of state owned entities (SOEs) resulting in improper and possibly corrupt award of state contracts and benefits to the Gupta family's businesses”.
African News Agency