Civil society group #UniteBehind has welcomed the sanction to be recommended by the parliamentary ethics committee against former transport minister Dipuo Peters for breaching the code of ethics while she was in the executive.
It also said the sanction of suspending Peters for one term of Parliament fell short and that the committee did not investigate an important aspect of its complaint.
“#UniteBehind welcomes this finding as some semblance of accountability for state capture, corruption and maladministration at Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa),” the organisation’s legal officer Joseph Mayson said on Thursday.
Mayson noted with concern that the committee did not recommend any further sanctions such as a penalty, a deduction of pay, an apology or greater sanctions within its Committee.
“Further, the committee failed to investigate an important aspect of our complaint.
“This is a travesty of justice,” Mayson said.
He made the comment after the ethics committee found against Peters in three of the complaints that were lodged by social activist Zackie Achmat and #Unite Behind in September 2022.
The complaints consisted of findings made by the Zondo Commission of inquiry.
The complaints alleged that Peters was neglectful when she failed to appoint a group CEO for Prasa and that she dismissed the entity’s board after it instituted an investigation.
This investigation uncovered R14 billion in irregular expenditure.
Another complaint was that Peters failed to investigate R79 million paid by Prasa to Swifambo for alleged distribution to the ANC.
It was also alleged that she had used Prasa buses for ANC events during 2014 and 2015 without ensuring payment from the party.
The committee found that Peters failed to act on all occasions in accordance with the public trust placed in her and discharge her obligations by placing the public interest above her own interests when she failed to appoint a group CEO after Prasa board’s recruitment process that cost R1 767 000.
It also found that Peters breached the code when she dismissed the Prasa board on the same day former board chairperson Popo Molefe wrote to the transport portfolio committee.
The high court had ruled the dismissal of the board to be irrational, unreasonable and unlawful.
The committee also found that Peters breached the ethics code when she requested Prasa buses to be used for the ANC January 8 celebrations in January 2015, which were not paid for.
“The committee will recommend that the Member be suspended from her seat in all parliamentary debates and sittings, and from committee meetings and committee-related functions and operations for one term of the parliamentary programme,” the committee said.
But Mayson said, the Committee failed to deal with Peter’s attempt to stop corruption investigations, to investigate the R79 million paid to the ANC through the Swifambo corruption or her attempt to implement unlawful procurement policies at Prasa.
He also said it failed to ensure that Peters paid back the money from her failure to appoint a permanent group CEO at the state-owned entity.
“The committee should have recommended greater sanctions. Suspension is insufficient.”
Mayson said the sanctions by the ethics committee were now trend as it had recommended the suspension of former transport minister Joe Maswanganyi from a complaint by #UniteBehind.
“Here again, the Committee failed to investigate crucial aspects of our complaint,” he said.
Mayson added that #UniteBehind has taken Parliament to court regarding its failure to investigate its complaints against former minister Fikile Mbalula, former transport deputy minister Dikeledi Magadzi and former Free State agriculture MEC and mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane.
He also called on the ANC to take action against Peters.
“The ANC must immediately remove Peters from Parliament, if it is serious about addressing corruption and maladministration within its ranks,” Mayson said.
Cape Times