Embattled Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula says her resignation as National Assembly Speaker and MP on Wednesday will give her time to focus on dealing with the allegations of corruption and money laundering that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) wants her arrested and to appear in court for.
Her decision came a day after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, struck her urgent application to halt her arrest from the roll and paved the way for her apprehension and for her to be brought to court.
It could be that Mapisa-Nqakula will hand herself to the Lyttelton police station in Pretoria, as this was the plan all along from her legal team’s side. Her decision to quit came on the eve of a motion of no confidence vote led by the DA.
Mapisa-Nqakula is being investigated in connection with allegations that she solicited and received about R4 million in bribes while she was the defence minister.
In her resignation letter, she once again maintained her innocence, saying her decision was not an indication or admission of guilt regarding the allegations made against her.
“I have made this decision in order to uphold the integrity and sanctity of our Parliament, an apex institution of our system of government, representing the people of South Africa as a whole. The position of the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of South Africa is critical in the reconstruction and development of our country.
Given the seriousness of the much-publicised allegations against me, I cannot continue in this role. As the country’s chief lawmaker, I hold a central responsibility to protect and preserve the integrity of Parliament by ensuring that my actions ensure that its sacred work must continue without blemish,” she said.
“I believe that, at the right time, I will have the opportunity to thoroughly address these allegations as and when they have been formally brought against me in the appropriate forums, at which time I will clear my good name. I maintain my innocence and am determined to restore my good reputation,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she had an obligation, despite the principle that she should be deemed innocent, to step down, given the public trust placed in her as Speaker of the National Assembly and the need to protect the image of the ANC. “I remain a dedicated member of the African National Congress, a movement I have remained loyal to all my political life,” she said.
While the DA hailed her resignation as a victory for accountability and Parliament, the ANC said it valued her commitment to maintaining the image of the organisation. The party said this reflected its principles of organisational renewal that promote proactive responsibility-taking among members, rather than waiting for instructions to step aside.
DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube said: “We believe that anyone who holds this high office should be beyond reproach; and Ms Mapisa-Nqakula is not suited for it.”
Stellenbosch University Political Science professor Amanda Gouws said she did not see the resignation coming but “the timing is about the election. She was probably asked by the party leaders (to resign) so the ANC can maintain credibility, to show voters they are dealing with corruption.”
On the impact on the party’s reputation, she said: “The party has no reputation that can be dented any more.
There are so many incidents and they are not implementing the Zondo Commission report and dealing with people implicated in that report. Every day there are some new allegations about ANC leaders. This is the first election in which loyalty is going to play less of a role. If you look at the polls, people are fed up.”
Policy analyst and researcher Nkosikhulule Nyembezi said despite being accused of corruption while serving as a Cabinet minister, Mapisa-Nqakula’s portrayal of herself as the real victim of a witch-hunt showed a telling lack of contrition.
“This resignation may reflect the ANC president’s growing confidence to drop politically tainted individuals from his team. Still, it also reinforces the fact that time is limited and the party has achieved too little in its fight against corruption. A bribery allegation is a complex matter to brush aside. But the yet-to-be-finalised charges by the prosecuting authority reinforce the idea that the ANC president must correctly apply concepts such as corruption and integrity to ministers and parliamentarians, with lack of intent and innocence until proven guilty not regarded as a legitimate excuse.
“For Mapisa-Nqakula, nothing so became her in the Speaker’s office as the leaving of it. Her grudging resignation letter played into the fractured ANC’s permanent sense that sabotage within their party continues to tie down organisational renewal efforts.”
Cape Times