Rational Youth Movement slams speaker

THE RATIONAL Youth Movement has accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula of trying to sweep allegations of fraud, corruption and extortion levelled against Section 194 committee chairperson Richard Dyantyi under the carpet.

Suspended public protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s husband, Mandla Skosana, recently accused Dyantyi, ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina and former ANC MP Tina Joemat-Pettersson of having solicited a bribe of R600 000 to make the inquiry into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office “go away”.

Last week, the movement wrote to Nqakula, seeking clarity on what steps Parliament was going to take to ensure that Dyantyi and others involved in the matter account for their alleged involvement in the bribery claim.

During her media briefing, Mkhwebane also blamed Mapisa-Nqakula for allegedly refusing a confidential meeting with a “whistle-blower” about the bribery allegations. This led to the Rational Youth Movement also making a submission to the speaker.

Mkhwebane added that had it not been for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “illegal” suspension of her (Mkhwebane), Joemat-Pettersson would ”most probably still be alive“.

Last week, following Mkhwebane’s media briefing in Sandton, the movement said in its letter to the speaker that it was concerned that the Section 194 committee chairperson had been accused of serious wrongdoing by the suspended public protector.

The movement also called for the allegations to be thoroughly investigated, adding that it did not believe Mkhwebane would get a fair hearing as she had exposed collusion by some MPs.

In a letter dated Monday, June 19, Mapisa-Nqakula said she had referred the matter to Parliament’s joint standing committee on ethics and members’ interests.

“In terms of the code of conduct governing the process of the committee, the outcome of the investigation and findings will be made publicly available in the form of a report to the National Assembly, which will be tabled for adoption,” the speaker said through a legal adviser.

The movement’s spokesperson, Doctor Shange, said the speaker’s response suggested the public protector referred the matter to the ethics committee, however, the movement was not convinced because the speaker failed to intervene after Mkhwebane wrote to the National Assembly.

“The speaker is ignoring the fact that she refused to intervene or at least meet the PP; advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane is the one who instructed her to refer the matter. It is apparent that ‘the matter is currently receiving attention’, but the speaker is unable to provide a date by which the ethics committee will conclude its work,” Shange said yesterday.

Last week, Dyantyi refused to comment on these allegations, saying “I do not respond to hearsay”, while attempts to get comment from the speaker were unsuccessful at the time of going to print.