DA condemns Presidency for refusing to update SCOPA on implementation of SIU recommendations

6 July 2021

Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbite by Alf Lees MP.

The DA condemns in the strongest possible terms the refusal by the Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, to timeously report to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on the progress that the Presidency has made with respect to reports by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) on Covid-19-related corruption.

Acting Minister Ntshaveni was supposed to update SCOPA regarding the SIU’s investigations into irregular procurement of PPEs, including the infamous Digital Vibes scandal, as well as the disciplinary steps taken against suspended Director-General of Public Works, advocate Sam Vukela, for his alleged role in the Beitbdrige border fence scandal, amongst other matters.

The Presidency’s refusal to submit itself to the oversight powers of an official committee of the National Assembly, in a manner that is both timeous and expeditious, directly undermines the Constitution as well as provisions of law and of the Rules of the National Assembly.

The DA will therefore be writing to the Chairperson of SCOPA, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, formally requesting him to use the powers afforded to committees of the National Assembly, to summon Acting Minister Ntshaveni to appear before SCOPA and provide evidence to it regarding the matters at hand.

It is unacceptable that the Presidency is evading accountability and perpetuating a chronic lack of transparency within the public sphere, especially on the spurious grounds that, amongst other excuses, they are too busy attending to National Coronavirus Command Council matters. It is time that the powers afforded to Parliament by law is used appropriately in order to hold members of the executive to account.

Issued by Alf Lees, DA Member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, 6 July 2021