Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba will be summoned to appear before Parliament’s home affairs committee next week to explain the reasoning behind him granting the Gupta family early citizenship in his previous role as home affairs minister.
Following heated exchanges between MPs over the absence of home affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni, who missed a meeting with the committee on Tuesday due to a scheduling conflict, politicians agreed the decision-making process that led to Gigaba overruling a home affairs official’s decision to deny the Guptas early naturalisation was a matter of public interest that needed urgent attention.
While an apology from the Apleni, who was briefing another committee of Parliament, was reluctantly accepted, MPs said the DG, his minister Hlengiwe Mkhize and Gigaba should not be given a choice on providing answers to the committee next week.
“I agree, although I’m not comfortable with the word ‘invite’ because we invited them today [Tuesday] and they did not come. I would just like to emphasise it’s not a matter of choice, we must make it clear they must appear before the committee…,” said Democratic Alliance MP Haniff Hoosen.
Hlengiwe Hlope of the Economic Freedom Fighters, the party which publicly released the two letters — one from a senior official denying the Guptas citizenship and another from Gigaba overturning this decision — said the appearance of the ministers and Apleni should not be made optional.
Ruling African National Congress (ANC) MP Maesela Kekana agreed, saying: “We don’t invite them, we summon them. We want them here. It must be clear in bold letters.”
It emerged on Tuesday that an announcement by the EFF that they would be taking Gigaba to court over his controversial decision could throw a spanner into the works.
Parliamentary senior legal adviser Anthea Gordon told the committee that while the Supreme Court of Appeal had upheld several years ago that while a matter might be before a court of law, “it does not mean you cannot discuss it”.
However, she pointed out this may clash with rule 89 of National Assembly which prohibits MPs from reflecting “upon the merits of any matter on which a judicial decision in a court of law is pending”.
Gordon said she would be able to give the committee a proper legal opinion when she sees the application of the EFF.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, committee chairman Lemias Mashile said Apleni will not be excused from next week’s meeting without valid reasons.
“The [next] step…is next week Tuesday to have a meeting where the DG will come and do the work he was supposed to have done today and then to actually brief us on what they know, what they have on record about the naturalisation of the Guptas,” said Mashile.
“They [MPs] will interrogate the former minister [Gigaba] on the reasoning behind the approval of that particular application and that is an engagement that will of course only happen if the current situation of a court case [is resolved].”
– African News Agency (ANA)
