THE Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) said on Tuesday it has received a submission from ANC MP Mervyn Dirks on the allegations related to the misuse of public funds by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The committee said Ramaphosa has been given seven to ten working days for the submission of the written response.
Ramaphosa needs to explain to Parliament his alleged utterances made in a leaked audio recording about the use of public funds for party activities.
In the leaked recording, Ramaphosa can be heard saying: “Investigations will reveal that a lot of public money was used (to fund political campaigns). I said, in this case, I am prepared to fall on the sword, so that the CR17 campaign, yes, should be the only one that’s looked at and not the others because the image of the African National Congress is what I am most concerned about.”
Earlier this year, Dirks broke ranks with the party and asked Parliament’s finances watchdog, Scopa, to investigate.
The SCOPA said it has also received a legal opinion from the Parliamentary Legal Services on the matter.
The committee deliberated extensively on both the submission by Dirks and on the legal opinion in order to map out a process to follow in exercising its oversight duty as a public accounts committee.
“The committee agreed to present this matter to President Ramaphosa and seek his written response on it in a form of a statement or affidavit to solicit facts from him on this issue. The committee reserves a right to invite him to appear before it,” said SCOPA chair Mkhuleko Hlengwa in a statement.
“A written submission by President Ramaphosa will enable the committee to plan correctly for the hearings, that is why it is important for it to receive a written response in this regard. Upon receipt of that information the committee will make a determination on the process of hearings on this matter.”
The SCOPA will also require written responses from other stakeholders that are implicated in this matter, which include the State Security Agency.
The committee has also resolved to advise the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence that it is dealing with a matter that has a direct and material bearing on the State Security Agency.
The committee will also require the Auditor-General to provide written responses on these matters as per the recommendation of the legal opinion.
The SCOPA chairperson said it was aware that Dirks has instituted a parallel process of writing to the Public Protector on this matter.
Dirks has also informed the committee that he intends to write to the Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.
“The committee will in this regard inform the Public Protector that it is dealing with an issue that has been brought before her by Mr Dirks, to maintain a healthy cooperation with all the state institutions that are affected by this matter,” said Hlengwa.
- Inside Politics
