Cape Town – Opposition parties have rejected the appointment of National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board member Zandile Brown as the interim chairperson pending the finalisation of the appointment of the new chairperson.
This comes after Trade and Industry Minister Ibrahim Patel wrote to trade and industry portfolio committee chairperson Duma Nkosi, informing the committee of his decision after the term of former board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda ended on November 30.
Briefing the committee, Nkosi said Patel wrote to him on Tuesday informing the committee of his decision “to enable the continued proper functioning of the board”.
In his letter, Patel said he had taken into account the delays in the appointment of the new chairperson.
“I requested Ms Zandile Brown, who has served since 2017, to perform the functions of chairperson on an acting basis effective from December 1,” he wrote.
The delay came after Patel furnished the committee with a list of candidates for chairperson.
EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu said the minister did not have the power to appoint Brown as that was the role of the portfolio committee.
The parliamentary legal services agreed with him it was the responsibility of the committee to shortlist.
DA MP Matthew Cuthbert said Brown was part of the same board that allowed looting to continue unabated despite being the minister’s representative.
“If she discloses what was going on there, it would be a different story,” he said.
Cuthbert’s colleague, Dean Macpherson, said while Patel exercised his right, the committee would do well to express its extreme disappointment in the way he did it.
“He decided to appoint someone who has serious questions over her head, someone complicit with the destruction of NLC and someone who showed the ability not to speak out in the face of wrongdoing,” Macpherson said.
He also said Patel has not tried to remedy the decline and rot in the NLC.
“What he has done is to take the infection and try to quicken its demise. The DA rejects this appointment and believes it will lead to misery,” Macpherson added.
Freedom Front Plus MP Jaco Mulder said Brown's appointment was unfortunate for obvious reasons.
“She has been serving on the same board where all these things have gone wrong up to now,” he said.
But ANC MP Judy Hermans said she was not surprised the opposition did not support the appointment.
“As the ANC, we have all faith in our minister. He applied his mind and appointed the best person to the position,” she said.
ANC MP Tozama Mantashe said the commission had its problems, like other entities.
“The irregularities that have been identified by the minister are all under investigation. I don't understand what this hullabaloo is all about, but as the ANC we support the minister,” she said.
Nkosi said he has requested Patel to submit the list of all the names of candidates, which has been distributed to the MPs.
“Based on advice from legal services, the committee could use the nominated list of candidates as there are no apparent irregularities," he said.
The committee agreed on a timeline to screen and vet candidates ahead of the shortlisting in January and publish their names for public comment. Interviews will be held in February.
The committee plans to adopt its report on March 3 before tabling it with its recommendation to the National Assembly.
Political Bureau