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Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
- The district attorney will bring a request from the PAIA to force President Cyril Ramaphosa to publish the report on the ANC’s trip to Zimbabwe on a military plane.
- The ANC’s defense study group was briefed by Defense Minister Nosiviwe-Mapisa-Nqakula and resolved to refer the matter to the Defense Portfolio Committee.
- The study group was also briefed on the Defense Department’s acquisition of Covid-19 and found no “glaring deficiencies.”
The district attorney will apply the terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to compel President Cyril Ramaphosa to publish the report on the use of an air force plane by the ANC for a trip to Zimbabwe.
This after Defense and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula briefed the ANC defense study group on Friday night about the trip. The study group consists of ANC MPs who serve in the Defense Portfolio Committee, and such meetings are not open to public scrutiny. .
READ | Will Parliament take action after the ANC returns money for the trip to Zim on an air force plane?
In a statement released on Sunday, ANC chief Pemmy Majodina said that Mapisa-Nqakula “indicated that the working visit to Zimbabwe is now the subject of an investigation by the Public Protector and his office is cooperating with the investigation.
On that basis, the SG (study group) resolved that the president of the Defense PC convene a meeting of the PC so that the minister can inform the PC taking into account that the matter is being investigated by the Public Protector, “the statement reads. .
“We support the decision made by the NEC component of the ANC to pay the cost of their trip to Zimbabwe to do important work in support of human rights. We wish to respect the democratic centralism of our beloved movement.
READ | ANC will refund Zim’s flight money
“At the same time, we wish to dismiss the call made by the district attorney that an additional cost must be made. [sic]to the ANC as if the plane was not heading to Zimbabwe. The trip was already scheduled whether the ANC delegation was on board or not, the plane was on its way for the bilateral meeting of ministers. “
DA deputy and defense spokesman Kobus Marais said it is unacceptable for Mapisa-Nqakula to report to the ANC, but that South Africans are left in the dark.
“It has become common in the ANC to play both the judge and the jury in a shameless attempt to escape responsibility,” Marais said in a statement.
Gathering dust
After a public outcry about the “promotion” that Mapisa-Nqakula gave to the ANC comrades, including Ace Magashule, Tony Yengeni and Nomvula Mokonyane, who does not hold any public office and are civilians, on the military plane, Ramaphosa instructed Mapisa -Nqakula for a report on the matter.
The district attorney has previously asked for the report to be released, but to no avail.
“This report is already gathering dust on President Ramaphosa’s desk. It must be made public,” Marais said. “We cannot allow a situation in which a report, potentially detailing a flagrant abuse of scarce state resources, is seen and decided only by President Ramaphosa, whose record of holding his ANC colleagues accountable for corruption is depressing.”
According to Majodina’s statement, the study group also received information on the management of Covid-19 funds by the Department of Defense following the publication of the first in a series of reports from the Auditor General (AG).
The study group found no “glaring deficiencies” in the department’s Covid-19 acquisition, according to the AG report.
Earlier this month, the ANC caucus resolved not to support calls from the EFF and DA for the establishment of an ad hoc committee to investigate all Covid-19 acquisitions.
City Press reported that at that caucus meeting, the party planned for ministers to report back to study groups to ensure they have a common focus when cases are heard before portfolio committees. This is to avoid party embarrassment and an attempt to control the narrative.
