By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) MP Soviet Lekganyane has been elected as chairperson of Parliament’s ad hoc committee probing SAPS corruption allegations.
The committee was established after KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi made serious allegations against police minister Senzo Mchunu and within the SAPS ranks.
Mchunu has been placed on special leave until a separate judicial commission of inquiry, led by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, makes its findings. He has denied the accusations.
Professor Firoz Cachalia, the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council’s chairperson and a former Gauteng community safety MEC, has been appointed as acting police minister.
The ad hoc committee has been given 90 days to conclude its work.
During Tuesday’s meeting, ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli nominated fellow ANC MP Molapi Soviet Lekganyane to serve as chair of the committee.
Lekganyane accepted the nomination.
Shortly after, MK Party MP David Mandla Skosana nominated Julius Malema for the position. However, the EFF leader declined the nomination.
“Thanks for the nomination [but] I am not available,” Malema responded.
Lekganyane was subsequently elected unopposed.
But the EFF, MK Party, and ActionSA have questioned whether an ANC MP should lead the process, given the allegations implicate members of the executive.
ActionSA MP Dereleen James said it would have been more appropriate to elect someone from a party not affected by the claims.
“Let me also put on record something that isn’t sitting well with me. I wish to place this on record, ActionSA does not hold any voting rights when it comes to the election of the chairperson.
“We speak about gaining public trust, we speak about putting the public first, and we speak about South Africans’ eyes being on us. But I don’t understand how we claim to start off on the right foot.
“How do we garner public trust when we have a chairperson elected from the very party where many of those implicated come from? How does it make the public feel to know that today, we have a member from the same political family as those under scrutiny?
EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys echoed the sentiment, noting the EFF had already called for GNU members to avoid leading the inquiry.
“We just want to echo ActionSA’s sentiment on this matter. As the EFF, we released a statement last night calling on political parties represented in the GNU to abstain from nominating a chairperson from their ranks.
“This was to allow the people of South Africa to regain some confidence in Parliament. It mustn’t always feel like an extension of government.
Lekganyane, however, urged MPs to put politics aside and focus on restoring public confidence in Parliament and state institutions.
“ My feeling is that all of us here, and which I will also urge all of you, is that we have been appointed from a position of incompetence and every day when we do our work, let’s find a way to do better,”he said.
While the terms of reference are expected to be decided only once the ad hoc committee has been finalised, the committees, in their report to the National Assembly, have recommended that, in addition to Mkhwanazi’s allegations, “consideration is given to identifying any legislative and/or policy failures or gaps that may have contributed to this matter”.
The committee agreed to meet next week to finalise its terms of reference, and that political parties have until Friday, 8 August, to make inputs.