Parliament - The African National Congress (ANC) caucus in Parliament have made some grave errors in the past five years, ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu conceded on Thursday, but said the party committed itself to learn from its mistakes.
Briefing the media after the last ANC caucus of the 5th Parliament, Mthembu apologised for caucus supporting some unlawful decisions, including adopting a report exonerating former president Jacob Zuma from paying for non-security upgrades to his Nkandla residence against the binding recommendations of the Public Protector.
"We should have said no but I think we have made the basis for the next ANC caucus to be able to say no," he said.
"When you come to us with something that is out of the law that is unconstitutional and you want us to implement, we will say chief come and implement it yourself. We don't want to lose our integrity."
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed MPs during the caucus, and according to Mthembu thanked them for providing a foundation for "healthy tension" between MPs and the executive when it came to accountability, among others.