PREMATURE ADJOURNMENT OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEE
29 August 2014
The Office of the ANC Chief Whip is disappointed by the needless filibustering tactics today by the opposition parties in the ad hoc committee set up to consider the President's report regarding security upgrades at his Nkandla private residence. Due to this stonewalling by the very same parties who ostensibly support accountability, the committee has lost a day's work it may never recover.
The National Assembly's resolution of 19 August 2014 regarding the formation of the ad hoc committee is clear that the ad committee must consider all relevant reports relating to the security upgrades. This resolution, which is obtainable from parliamentary records, sought to broaden the scope of the committee's work to ensure that it does not confine itself to reports of the President and the Public Protector only, but all other key reports on the matter.
The DA's proposal at that sitting to include only one report at the expense of all other reports was rejected, as it would have limited the scope of the committee's mandate to only the report of the Public Protector. It is therefore perplexing that the opposition parties would today make a U-turn by rejecting the same resolution (terms of reference) of the House they agreed to merely because they suspect it does not take into consideration all the relevant reports.
It is clear that the opposition came to the first meeting of the ad hoc committee with a single aim to frustrate the committee's work, resulting in the meeting being adjourned prematurely.
As the ANC we believe that a clear resolution of the House has been passed regarding the terms of reference. We will therefore engage internally and decide on what we believe should be the best way forward. The ANC would like to see the ad hoc committee getting down to business without delay in order to achieve its objectives.
The unnecessary and ill-advised stonewalling we saw today only serves to frustrate Parliament's resolve to hold the executive accountable on this matter.
Statement issued by the Office of the ANC Chief Whip, August 29 2014
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