ANC MPs boycott Khoza
FIVE ANC MPs have decided to boycott a parliamentary committee meeting chaired by Makhosi Khoza because of her decision to vote with her conscience in last week’s no-confidence motion.
Their decision has been rejected “with contempt” by ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu. He said they would be disciplined.
In an unusual turn of events yesterday Parliament’s portfolio committee on public service and administration, chaired by Khoza, had to adjourn its meeting early when the five MPs, Public Service and Administration Minister Faith Muthambi, her director-general and several other officials were a no-show.
The five, who object to Khoza having publicly stated she would not toe the party line and rather vote according to her conscience in the no-confidence vote in President Jacob Zuma, said they had taken a decision to suspend all committee meetings as well as ANC study group gatherings.
They are Sizani Dlamini-Dubazana, Madala Ntombela, Mervyn Dirks, Wilmah Newhoudt-Druchen and Regina Lesoma.
Besides Khoza, only one other ANC MP, Mnyami Booi, pitched for the meeting, with those seated in the opposition ranks outnumbering their ruling party counterparts – a very rare occurrence in Parliament.
Now, if MPs have their way, Muthambi will receive a summons compelling her to appear before them with the parliamentarians even pushing for her to pay for the costs incurred on a meeting she boycotted, out of her own pocket.
Muthambi had failed to appear after agreeing to give the committee a verbal report on allegations in the media that she had hired family and friends in her private office; that she had staffed her office way beyond the limit of 10 people as stated in the ministerial handbook; and that she flew an inordinate number of people to her department’s budget vote in May.
Khoza was unapologetic about wanting Muthambi to account.
“She is spending money on friends and family members, yet can’t find the money to actually address the shortfall of the Public Service Commission.
“How is the PSC going to implement programme four, which deals with corruption?”
Booi, who sits on Parliament’s watchdog on public accounts and is privy to the billions wasted in the public service, said he would support a subpoena being issued, but said the money spent on yesterday’s committee meeting, including for flights, accommodation and catering, should be recouped from Muthambi and her director-general.
In March, while Muthambi was communications minister, an ad hoc committee which probed the affairs of the embattled SABC, found her to be incompetent and recommended Zuma reconsider her desirability to be a minister.
That month she was shifted to her current portfolio.
DA MP Mike Waters said Muthambi’s continued absence at parliamentary committee meetings meant she held the national legislature in contempt.
“It’s a dereliction of duty, the fact that she’s promised to come here to table a report verbally... has simply given us the middle finger,” said Waters.
He supported Muthambi being subpoenaed, as did the EFF’s Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
“Minister Faith Muthambi is running away from being held to account on the reports of nepotism and also corruption in her department under her instructions,” said Ndlozi.
“There is now also a deliberate plan that some among us MPs want to collapse this institution from doing its job.”
The ANC MPs who boycotted the meeting won’t get off scot-free either.
In a strongly worded statement, Mthembu said the MPs displayed “gross ill-discipline” with their truancy after he’d informed them they had no authority to suspend meetings and study groups.
Mthembu said Khoza was being dealt with at an “organisational level”.
She would be subject to ANC constitutional processes.
“We therefore condemn today’s behaviour (by the five truant MPs) with the utmost contempt.”
The five are themselves now expected to face disciplinary action.
“Those comrades who boycotted today’s meeting after clear instructions from the chief whip will be referred to the ANC caucus disciplinary committee,” said Mthembu. –