Parliamentary ‘power abuse’ row grows

Top official at centre of concerns about motives for dismissals

THERE is growing concern that the suspension of Parliament’s security chiefs may be related to the call for an investigation into abuse of power by one of the house’s most senior officials, Parliamentary Secretary Gengezi Mgidlana.

This emerged in an application to be heard by the Cape Town Labour Court on Friday, which could lift the lid on allegations Mgidlana abused his power by forcing parliamentary staff to ferry relatives, drive at excessive speeds, jump red lights and use blue lights, in violation of policies.

Another mystery that could be cleared up is the use by Parliament of a private intelligence firm to investigate staff..

The application was brought on Tuesday, on an urgent basis, by suspended parliamentary head of security Zelda Holtzman, who sought to interdict Parliament from proceeding with a disciplinary hearing against her on Thursday.

Attached to the papers handed in with the application is a charge sheet, detailing five charges described as acts “of serious misconduct, which would constitute just cause for dismissal”.

Correspondence informing Holtzman of her pending disciplinary hearing confirms Parliament called in a private company connected to former apartheid superspy Niel Barnard.

It informed her “the investigation was concluded on 7 October 2015 by Foresight Advisory Services (Pty) Ltd” (owned by former espionage bosses).

The application is “that the respondent ( Parliament) be interdicted and refrained from proceeding with the disciplinary hearing scheduled ( on short notice) to be commenced with October 28, 2015”.

Two of the charges relate to Holtzman or her attorney’s alleged communications with the media or statements attributed to her in media reports, several weeks after her original suspension.

In the papers Holtzman states: “It appears overwhelmingly that the disciplinary action against me is pregnant with ulterior motive.”

Holtzman and her deputy, Motlatsi Mokgatla, were placed on cautionary suspension on July 30 after a burglary at the EFF offices and alleged security breaches which included leaks to the media.

However, in papers pre- sented with the application, it emerged that the first two charges on the charge sheet relate to Holtzman’s and her legal representative’s alleged communication with media outlets in September, six weeks after she was first suspended.

Charge one states that Holtzman had committed serious misconduct by contravening provisions of the code of ethics and conduct for employees “when you and/ or your attorney, acting on your behalf, commented in the print media of the Sunday Times (6 September 2015), the City Press ( 6 September 2015) and the Weekend Argus (6 September 2015)”.

The second charge states that she committed serious misconduct when she stated in a Sunday newspaper that the administration of her employer ( Parliament) was “invoking former apartheid resources and agents, to do what, to say what and for what purpose? That is the big question”.

The application asks that Parliament be interdicted from commencing with the disciplinary hearing pending the out- come of an unfair labour practice case relating to a protected disclosure dispute, to be heard by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration on November 23.

In her founding application, Holtzman says she brought the urgent application because it breached an agreement between the parties two days before she was notified that Parliament had chosen another course of action.

In the affidavit, Holtzman sketches “a brief factual matrix” of matters, events and related issues pertinent to the application.

Prominent among these are matters pertinent to the unlawful use of protection services by Mgidlana, and the irregular recruitment of serving police members to bolster the parlia- mentary protection contingent.

This has been the subject of intense debate at Parliament, as police officers were accused of using excessive force against parliamentarians and the media.

Holtzman was handed her original suspension letter on July 30, after she questioned why a junior official was tasked with the recruitment of police officers to bolster the parliamentary protection force.

Also among the documents are memorandums addressed to the presiding officers of Parliament and the National Council of Provinces calling for “an investigation into the use of blue lights and other abuses”.

Soon after she was granted a temporary reprieve at the Labour Court, Parliament issued a statement saying it had postponed the disciplinary hearing.

Zelda Holtzman