Ethics committee 'committed to finalising all complaints' by May 21

Parliament’s ethics committee says it will conclude all cases before the expiry of the institution’s mandate on May 21.

Committee chairpersons Bekizwe Nkosi and Lydia Moshodi told TimesLIVE measures have been put in place to ensure this.

Parliament is scheduled to go on Easter recess on March 28 before embarking on a “constituency period” from April 2 until the end of term on May 21, according to the latest parliamentary programme.

“But the National Assembly remains competent to function until May 21,” said the chairpersons in response to written questions.

Processes have commenced on all new complaints lodged with the Office of the Registrar in 2024, they said. The committee was only dealing with complaints submitted this year and all other complaints have been finalised.

DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube previously complained about “the frequency” of the ethics committee’s meetings and its undisclosed workload.

“In 2023 the committee met six times; they are yet to meet in 2024. It’s now March and we are nearing the term end,” she said earlier this month.

The chairpersons defended the committee, saying it was different as it is included members of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.

“The first meeting of the committee in any year is in March. This is because during February the state of the nation address and the state of the province addresses (Sopa) require some members of the committee to attend the Sopa in their provinces.

“It must also be kept in mind that the committee cannot meet merely for the sake of meeting. The committee schedules its business after certain processes have been completed on a complaint.”

The committee determines its programme according to the processes required on a complaint. Because the committee considers sensitive and private information, it can only meet in-person and therefore must schedule its meetings when there are no clashes between national and provincial legislative business.

The committee met on Monday but it is not clear what was discussed. Its meetings are held behind closed doors.

Asked whether the committee would be able to investigate the complaints against National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula before the parliamentary term ends, the chairpersons declined to give a direct answer, saying: “The committee does not engage in running commentary on any of the complaints before it.

“All complaints before the committee are processed in terms of the prescripts of the code [of conduct] and the principles of natural justice.”

Mapisa-Nqakula is accused of receiving kickbacks during her tenure as defence minister. The DA laid a corruption complaint asking the ethics committee to probe the claims.

The chairpersons would not be drawn to comment about the possibility that the parliament term may end before some of the cases have been concluded.

“The committee cannot pre-empt the process. It will follow the process set out in the code to ensure fairness. We remain committed to processing all the complaints before the committee and all complaints before the committee have been submitted in 2024.

“All other complaints have been finalised and this shows the committee's commitment to finalising complaints before it.”

TimesLIVE