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Budget 2021 vote debates: When an obsession with number...

The Budget vote debates have been dull, exceedingly so. With a few exceptions, ministers simply ticked the boxes for how many rands were allocated for what – with that sounding quite familiar as talk of new measures continues alongside pledges, but action not so much. Still, the overarching m...

Busy MPs didn't sit and do nothing during state capture, Baleka Mbete tells Zondo Commission

Former Speaker Baleka Mbete said Parliament couldn't just investigate rumours. She said it was untrue that Parliament sat through massive amounts of corruption and did nothing. She admitted that more could have been done better if Parliament had better resources. Did the Fifth Parliament protect former president Jacob Zuma? The answer from then speaker Baleka Mbete is decisive: "No." And nothing is more ridiculous than Luthuli House instructing Parliament on what to do, according to Mbete, the party's former national chairperson.  Mbete testified before the Zondo Commission late on Tuesday late afternoon, going into the early evening, as the inquiry continued its workstream on parliamentary oversight.

Busy MPs didn't sit and do nothing during State capture, Baleka Mbete tells Zondo Commission

MPs didn't have time to deal with 'noise' of state capture claims, Mbete tells Zondo

Arms Deal and State Capture claims: Former Speaker Bale...

The then deputy Speaker of Parliament, Baleka Mbete, was acting as Speaker when a document with the Arms Deal corruption claims slid under her door.  “That document had no signature, had no author, but it contained scary things. I had to apply my mind for hours and I took a decision. Parliament is very busy… and I just did not act on it,” Mbete told Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo on Tuesday.  “I just did not act on it. If another opportunity like that happened I would still decide that.”  It’s on public record that then Pan-Africanist Congress MP Patricia de Lille spoke under parliamentary privilege on the Arms Deal corruption memo in the House in September 1999. 

Waffling Ramaphosa feels the pressure at Zondo commission

“They played a patriotic role.” Asked by Freund why the ANC parliamentary caucus had voted against the DA motion moved by Maynier for the establishment of an ad hoc committee to investigate state capture, Ramaphosa responded: “At the time, the thinking was about which of state structures – [the] police or public protector – would investigate with greater effect.” Remarked Zondo: “The ANC and parliament took years after the 2013 Waterkloof landing – another three years seems to be a delay difficult to accept. “Given what Mr Mbalula said, who was in the ANC and what was being reported in the media, the ANC should have done something much earlier.

ANALYSIS | Ramaphosa stands by as ANC views Parliament and Constitution as subservient to itself

Themba Hadebe Likening his ANC's MPs to a herd of cattle, self-proclaimed "party animal" President Cyril Ramaphosa did little to dispel the notion the party views Parliament as little more than another gear in its internal machinations. Ramaphosa's second day of testimony before the Zondo Commission in his capacity as ANC president kicked off on Thursday morning with evidence leader advocate Alec Freund SC questioning him about parliamentary oversight. Freund noted it took Parliament more than five years since the first allegations of the Gupta's undue influence surfaced for it to investigate. Support independent journalism Subscribe to News24 for just R75 per month to read all our investigative and in-depth journalism.

Zondo commission: Ramaphosa concedes ANC and Parliament dropped the ball on Gupta claims

Zondo commission: Ramaphosa concedes ANC and Parliament dropped the ball on Gupta claims Share Johannesburg - President Cyril Ramaphosa has conceded that Parliament and the ANC dropped the ball in not dealing swiftly with allegations of state capture that were contained in the Gupta leaks and various media reports. Ramaphosa testified on Thursday as the leader of the ANC. He was questioned on parliamentary oversight and the ANC's role in dealing with corruption allegations. Advocate Alec Freund, the evidence leader, took the president through sections of the law that detail that the executive is accountable to Parliament and not the ANC. He has also read legislation that highlights that Parliament is obliged to investigate corruption claims that surface in the public domain.

Zondo Commission: Ramaphosa admits Parliament 'dropped the ball'

Zondo Commission: Ramaphosa admits Parliament 'dropped the ball' Updated Natarah Nadesan Share this: youtube This morning, the President is being questioned on parliamentary oversight.  Evidence leader, advocate Alec Freund first highlighted the Nkandla judgement by the Constitutional Court and parliament's failure to hold a sitting president accountable.  Freund then drew Ramaphosa's attention to allegations concerning the wealthy Gupta family:  "You will see Mr President that this is dated, it's issued as we see on the foot of the page, by the parliament of the Republic of South Africa and its headed parliamentary investigation into alleged state capture emails."  "In light of the recent accusations of state capture linked to alleged emails involving several ministers, it will appear that it must be a reference to what has come to be known as the Gupta leaks."  

Ramaphosa concedes ANC, Parliament dropped the ball on #Gupta claims

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