Chairperson of the Impeachment Committee on Section 89 inquiry, Makashule Gana The ANC abstained at Parliament’s impeachment committee on Wednesday, letting six opposition parties, including the EFF, pick the advocate recommended to lead the Phala Phala evidence against President Cyril Ramaphosa. Advocate Thandazani Madonsela SC beat advocate Kate Hofmeyr SC by nine votes to seven, with 11 abstentions, in a roll-call vote of political parties. The committee’s vote is a recommendation only, and Parliament will now put Madonsela’s name through its own supply chain and procurement processes before he can be appointed.
Madonsela was carried by the MKP’s three votes, the EFF’s two, and one each from the ACDP, Build One SA, the ATM and United Africans Transformation. Hofmeyr, nominated by the DA, took the DA’s five votes and one each from the Freedom Front Plus and ActionSA. The ANC abstained on both names, as did the PA and Al Jama-ah.
The IFP and UDM were not on the virtual platform. The Western Cape High Court has stopped the committee holding public hearings, and MPs are not certain Parliament may pay an evidence leader while that order stands. PA MP Marlon Daniels put that question to committee chairperson Makashule Gana minutes after the vote.
[paywall]
“The reason is that such an appointment is a substantive step, and there will be a commitment to public expenditure in that regard. Now, if the process is later set aside, that expenditure will be exposed.” Gana said the committee would take the matter to the secretary to Parliament for guidance, but that he did not read the court order as barring the appointment.
[/paywall]
All Zim News – Bringing you the latest news and updates.
