fla
ECAPE-TROLLIP
JOHANNESBURG Oct 9 Sapa
TROLLIP TO APOLOGISE TO PREMIER: LEGISLATURE
DA Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip will apologise to provincial premier Phumulo Masualle for implying he was a "liar and a cheat", the legislature said on Thursday.
"The legislature welcomes the agreement and can confirm that Hon Trollip has agreed to apologise in the next sitting 1/8of the legislature 3/8 scheduled for next week," spokeswoman Bulelwa Ganyaza said.
The DA said in an earlier statement that an agreement had been reached, but did not provide details.
"Without divulging the contents of the agreement, it has been decided in the chambers of the presiding judge in the Grahamstown High Court that Hon Trollip will be invited to the next sitting of the Eastern Cape provincial legislature which will be held in Burgersdorp on Tuesday, 14 October 2014," it said in a statement.
Trollip would read a statement and a decision would be made regarding the sanction imposed on him.
The legislature's ethics committee last week found him guilty of bringing the institution into disrepute because it reportedly said he failed to apologise for implying that Masualle was a "liar and cheat".
The sanction handed down was a 15-day suspension and a fine of one month's salary.
Trollip said last week that he would oppose the sanction and approach the court for an urgent interdict.
" 1/8This 3/8 emanated from a straightforward legislature question to the premier about which official had transferred R250,000 into his personal bank account at the time of the 1/8Nelson 3/8 Mandela funeral service," he said at the time.
"The question was amended/modified by the legislature and this led to much controversy. The premier believed that his good name was impugned by my statements, utterances and actions and demanded an apology."
Trollip said he indicated at the time that he was prepared to make a conditional apology to the premier, and that he would not apologise before the original question was answered.
"I was again asked to apologise yesterday 1/8last Thursday 3/8, for an expanded bouquet of alleged infractions. Again I refused to do so, because doing so would be tantamount to self-muzzling or self-emasculation."
Sapa
/aa/th/ar/ks 10/09/14 16-33