Debating McBride’s contract a waste of time – ANC MPs
DA says it’s a mistake not to keep Ipid boss
ANC MPs have thrown their weight behind police minister Bheki Cele in his battle not to renew the contract of Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) boss Robert McBride.
One ANC MP even went as far as calling for the party to take disciplinary steps against McBride for challenging Cele. “The leader of Ipid will need to be disciplined by the party he belongs to… We are drinking juice and so on‚ wasting time‚” said ANC MP Livhuhani Mabija yesterday. “He knows... The mere fact that he started running around saying‚ ‘hey this and this‚ my contract must be renewed’, he knows he is not fit to go on in that position... this is fruitless expenditure of parliament. [We are] busy dealing with things he has caused.” Parliament’s police portfolio committee‚ to which both McBride and Cele are accountable‚ held a special meeting yesterday to process submissions received from both men. Cele stated reasons for not renewing or extending McBride’s five-year contract‚ which ends on Thursday. McBride‚ in his response‚ claimed that if his contract was not renewed‚ there would be “an undoubtable risk that several high-profile and politically sensitive investigations would be impeded or obstructed”. The Ipid Act makes provision for the extension of the Ipid executive director’s fiveyear contract with another five-year term. Another ANC MP‚ Martha Mmola‚ called on Cele to appoint somebody else to act as Ipid boss after Thursday. Mmola did not think McBride even deserved reasons why his contract was not being renewed‚ as it was ending anyway.
“If I was the minister‚ I would have said‚ ‘contract expires February 28‚ thanks.’ “Why are we talking renewal? What is it that he is fighting for? For me this contract must not be renewed.”
But DA MPs warned that the committee would be making a mistake by endorsing the nonrenewal of McBride’s contract.