Committee to consider Zuma’s response to Nkandla

NATIONAL Assembly speaker Max Sisulu has decided to call an ad hoc committee to consider President Jacob Zuma’s response to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s findings about the R215m of taxpayer money that funded upgrades to his Nkandla private residence.

On Wednesday, Parliament issued its first official statement, saying that the committee would be formed.

While the committee is not expected to decide to impeach Mr Zuma because the majority of its members would be selected from his African National Congress (ANC), it will give credibility to Parliament’s democratic processes.

Last month, Ms Madonsela found that Mr Zuma had benefited improperly from the R215m spent so far on the upgrade at Nkandla. The expenditure is expected to reach R246m.

She also found that Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa had not applied his mind when he declared Nkandla a national key point, and this constituted maladministration.

The statement by Parliament said the ad hoc committee would begin work as soon as possible and report back to the legislature by April 30.

The committee would consist of 12 members, seven from the ANC and two from the Democratic Alliance (DA). The Congress of the People and Inkatha Freedom Party would each contribute one MP.

One member would be selected from the smaller political parties.

In terms of the rules of Parliament, the ad hoc committee can decide on its own procedure, frequency and the timings of sittings.

The parliamentary statement also said Mr Sisulu had decided on the formation of the ad hoc committee after consultation with the chief whips of all the parties.

Mr Zuma tabled his response to Ms Madonsela’s report on April 2. The response included a proclamation and a copy of the report.

The essence of Mr Zuma’s response was that he would wait for the Special Investigating Unit to complete its work before a final decision. He also said he was concerned over big differences between Ms Madonsela’s report and one by the security cluster of ministers.

On Tuesday, the cluster issued a statement saying it had requested Ms Madonsela’s office to provide more information and clarifications.

DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko submitted a request to Mr Sisulu for the ad hoc committee to be formed on March 20, a day after Ms Madonsela released her Nkandla report. Mr Sisulu responded on March 25, saying he was considering the request.

She has taken the firm view that the ad hoc committee is the first step towards impeaching Mr Zuma.

She calls Mr Sisulu’s decision a "bold" move that is a victory for Parliament and the Constitution.

Political analyst Steven Friedman says he is not surprised by Mr Sisulu’s decision: "It (the committee) had to be done. The problem was that it is a damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation in that if the committee was formed after the May 7 elections there would have been accusations of kicking the issue into touch. If the committee works before the elections then the accusation will be that it is to influence elections."

- BDLive