Minister Nxesi must clarify how Nkandlagate report was "classified" within 36 hours

According to the legal opinion received from the Speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu, which the DA now has in its possession, the Public Works Task Team Report into the security upgrades at President Zuma's private home in Nkandla, was "classified". It is on this basis that the legal opinion, advising the Speaker to refer the report to a closed committee, was drafted by the State Law Advisor.

However, after a thorough analysis, it remains unclear how the Minister of Public Works, Thulas Nxesi, could have "classified" this report in the first instance. In fact, it is the DA's position that he is not empowered to do so at all. 

The National Key Point Act does not at any point enable the Minister to classify a document. Furthermore, the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) policy has no basis in law, and remains a cabinet policy. The Minister cannot claim that he has made use of this document to legally classify the report, nor can the report be referred to the JSCI on the basis of this policy.

This brings into question whether Minister Nxesi deliberately set out to hide the information contained in the report at the very outset, and whether he was wrong in requesting that the report be handled behind closed-doors.

I will call on the Minister to clarify within the next 36 hours the basis in law, upon which he has "classified" this document; what procedures he followed to do so, and why.

If he does not respond before the commencement of the consideration of the report at the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) on Wednesday, the DA will move a motion in the committee that the report be referred back to the Minister for it to be made public and accordingly tabled before the appropriate public committee.

I will also ask that the Minister inform the public whether he sought any legal opinion as to the options he had available to make the report public, and whether at any point he consulted with other cabinet members about the steps he could take to do so.

This report was supposed to be an opportunity to ensure transparency and accountability following the public outcry over the exorbitant spending of R206 million of public money on President Zuma's private home. Instead, it has been questionably "classified" in order to protect President Zuma from being held accountable.

I look forward to a full briefing by the Minister as a matter of urgency. He must reveal the truth so that we can ensure that all those responsible, including those at the very top, are held accountable.

Statement issued by Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, DA Parliamentary Leader, June 3 2013

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