Johnathan Paoli
DA Chief whip Siviwe Gwarube has called for National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and NCOP chairperson Amos Masondo to be investigated over the exorbitant salary paid to Parliament secretary, Xolile George on Monday.
It was alleged in a Sunday newspaper that George earned an inflated salary of R4.4 million per annum when his salary should have been capped at R2.6 million.
Gwarube said the DA would be lodging an urgent complaint with the Powers and Privileges Committee to investigate the Executive Authority for the breach of their oath of office and the betrayal of the principles of transparency and accountability.
There were glaring breaches of the Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics for Members of the Executive Authority and the responsibility for the financial management of Parliament by both Mapisa-Nqakula and Masondo, Gwarube said.
“They have violated the trust that is placed on them to act in the best financial interest of an institution that is battling to fulfil its constitutional obligations due tight financial constraints”.
Gwarube said some of the breaches included contravention of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliaments and Provincial Legislatures Act, the Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, and the Code of Ethics for Members of the Executive Authority and the allegations are proof that they are not suited for the task ahead.
In addition, he said the recruitment of the Secretary to Parliament was not conducted in an open and transparent manner.
Stressing parliament’s role as an institution that is meant to hold the government to account, Gwarube said the actions of the Speaker do not instill any public confidence and cast doubt on the institution’s own financial management abilities.
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