Nkandla reprimand letters should be rejected by Parliament

25 April 2016

Yesterday Parliament published the letters of reprimand that President Jacob Zuma sent to the Ministers involved in the Nkandla scandal. 

The letters were an insult to the gravity of the situation and are a clear indication that the President remains uncommitted to fully acknowledging the level of misconduct which was displayed by these Ministers. Such a half-hearted attempt at a reprimand simply cannot be accepted by Parliament.

Parliament now has a golden opportunity to re-establish its reputation, and to show that it is not a rubber stamping institution, by examining the content of these letters. It is our contention that the letters do not go far enough in terms of holding the Ministers to account for their actions, by publically admonishing them, or by showing the intention of ensuring that such actions never occur again.

For one thing, the reprimand for the Minister of Police should have come by way of a removal from office!

While the Public Protector has welcomed these letters from a “rule of law point of view”, she has rightly said that “regarding the content of the letter, I expect Parliament to be the right forum to assess the adequacy.”  

The DA has forwarded these letters to our legal team, and has asked them to advise us on whether they constitute an adequate reprimand as envisioned by the Public Protector. However, it is our belief that Parliament is now the correct body to scrutinise these letters and ultimately to reject them as unacceptable.

In the meantime we will also forward a copy of each letter to the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests and request that they be considered as supporting evidence for the various complaints lodged against the implicated Ministers following the Constitutional Court’s judgment. 

We will also send copies of the letters to the Powers and Privileges Committee and request that they investigate the ‘reprimanded’ Ministers for misconduct as per National Assembly Rule 194. If found guilty of misconduct, these Ministers would possibly be liable for a fine and suspension.

Parliament must take all actions in its oversight of the Executive to ensure that such a gross abuse of public funds is never allowed to happen again. During the impeachment debate the ANC in Parliament put Zuma first and the Constitution last – these letters are the perfect opportunity for the ANC to prove whether it can put the Constitution ahead of President Zuma at last.

The DA will do everything possible in Parliament to ensure that there is true accountability for those involved in the Nkandla scandal, because the DA is the only party which is truely committed to fighting corruption wherever it occurs.

Issued by John Steenhuisen, Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance, 25 April 2016