Cape Town - Speaker of the provincial legislature Masizole Mnqasela has accused the DA’s Federal Legal Commission (FLC) of putting the cart before the horse by finding him guilty of misconduct without a hearing.
On Thursday, the FLC recommended that Mnqasela be charged with misconduct over the results of an internal party investigation into allegations of irregularities pertaining to subsistence, travel and entertainment allowance claims.
DA Provincial chairperson Jaco Londt said in a terse statement that the FLC had given “due consideration” to the matter and that the party’s Federal Executive (FedEx) had accepted the FLC’s recommendation.
Londt said: “As required by the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, the DA has also reported the matter to the Hawks for investigation, including the documentary evidence provided in the protected disclosures.”
However, in a statement this morning (Friday), Mnqasela, who has consistently denied the allegations, accused the DA of politics and of having transgressed the principles of justice and fairness by not allowing the due process of the law to take effect.
“Allegations have been levelled against me, as stated, that are criminal in nature and not political, albeit they may be influenced by a political agenda. These allegations I have consistently dismissed and vehemently denied as not only baseless, but malicious, and continue to maintain my innocence.”
He said the FLC and FedEx were guilty of over-reach as they had ignored the fact of the processes that have to unfold, as contained in the legislature’s Code of Conduct.
“As a seasoned democrat and fervent adherent to human rights and rule of law, I deem this action by FedEx as prejudicial, unfair, and unconstitutional, and goes against the ethos of what we champion and trumpet as the DA.”
Mnqasela said he was “absolutely dismayed” to receive the news of the DA’s recommendation against him via the media while he was busy with his parliamentary duties as Speaker in a public participation and public involvement Thetha Nathi Programme in Worcester.
He said he served as Speaker of the Legislature and, as such, was subject to the scrutiny of the Legislature and sanction of the various structures of that legislative body.
“I also submit myself, like all citizens of this country, to the discretion of the law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies of this country and all the courts, with the exception of some kangaroo courts.”
In May, Mnqasela was suspended from party activities, pending the finalisation of this investigation and the possible institution of disciplinary proceedings against him.
It has been more than two months since the DA handed documents to the Hawks containing protected disclosures by whistle-blowers alleging fraud by the speaker.
The whistle-blowers originally approached the leader of the DA Provincial Caucus, Alan Winde, to report their allegations.
At the time, Mnqasela said he had yet to be approached by the Hawks about the charges levelled against him.
In June, the legislature’s conduct committee released its report regarding a breach of the Code of Conduct by the Speaker for failing to disclose a family trust formed by him in 2018 in his disclosure forms submitted for 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The report recommended that Mnqasela be penalised with a reprimand, a fine not exceeding the value of 30 days’ salary, and the suspension of privileges for a period of a week.
While the provincial opposition ANC said it had noted the DA’s statement, it questioned whether it was the DA’s place to take such a move against Mnqasela.
ANC deputy chief whip Khalid Sayed said: “It was not for the DA’s FLC to make this recommendation but for the Registrar of the Legislature to make that recommendation after his own investigation.”
Sayed said the ANC would await the processes of the conduct committee, where he said the matter should have been tabled in the first place.
He also said the DA was being extremely hypocritical in not dealing with the matter relating to Deputy Speaker Beverley Schäfer with the same amount of urgency.
Questions about whether Schäfer had incurred fruitless and wasteful expenditure were referred to the legislature’s conduct committee. The committee found her guilty, but Schäfer has maintained her innocence.
