Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa and Xolile George, secretary of parliament. (Photo: Parliament)
The DA is not satisfied with the outcome of the joint standing committee on the financial management of the parliament’s now concluded investigation into Xolile George, secretary of the parliament.
The committee was apparently unable to find any irregularities regarding George’s appointment in 2022 or the significant adjustment made to his salary months after his appointment. The committee therefore considers the matter settled.
However, Rikus Badenhorst, DA MP and member of the committee, now says that the committee simply ignored certain findings for the sake of convenience and did not consistently follow the proper process.
The DA has therefore now written to Thoko Didiza, speaker of the parliament, in which they request that an ad hoc investigation be instituted into George’s appointment as secretary, his astronomical salary increase and the deception of the parliament.
Badenhorst says the media statement in which the committee declared to the public last month that its investigation into George was completed “does not reflect a legitimate committee decision.”
“A committee decision cannot be produced afterwards and presented to the public as if the proper process had been followed. There was no formal vote, no adopted resolution and no properly concluded deliberation by the committee to justify this so-called settlement of the matter,” says Badenhorst.
Xolile George, Secretary of Parliament. (Photo: Parliament)
“It is clear that this matter will not be handled properly by the committee, and a parliamentary investigation is necessary to avoid political choreography.
“What makes it even more worrying is that it follows the exact same ANC playbook that was used in the sixth parliament, where legitimate DA concerns about irregularities in the appointment process were dismissed and buried rather than investigated,” says Badenhorst.
He then explains that for the sake of convenience the committee ignored the findings of the independent Pillay SC legal opinion, which expressly stated: “There is a prima facie case that warrants an investigation and a trial.”
“The same legal opinion was buried in the sixth parliament. That finding was never overturned. It was simply ignored because it was inconvenient.”
According to Badenhorst, there are still serious questions that remain unanswered.
“Evidence shows that the position was advertised, applications received and screened, but the process was suddenly stopped before an offer was made directly to Mr. Xolile George. Equally worrying is the discrepancy between what members of parliament were led to believe regarding the salary, approximately R2.6 million, and the final package of more than R5 million per year.
“These are not minor administrative issues. It is about whether the parliament itself may have been misled,” says Badenhorst.
The DA MP also feels that the committee relied too much on the auditor general’s report.
Maroela Media earlier reported that the auditor general had checked the recruitment and compensation determination process and found no irregularities based on the information provided.
The auditor general’s conclusion was that the recruitment and appointment process, the approval of the salary and the subsequent adjustment of the salary after the appointment of the STP had been reviewed and no irregularities had been identified…”
Badenhorst believes that the OG’s processes are therefore also being misused.
“The auditor general assessed procedural compliance. However, the Pillay opinion raises the much more serious question of whether members were misled in approving the appointment.
“What South Africans see is an attempt by ANC-affiliated chairmen to force a politically convenient outcome by presenting the ANC narrative as fact,” says Badenhorst.
Badenhorst believes there should be a parliamentary investigation into the matter. “In a constitutional democracy, surveillance is not optional and cannot be replaced by one or three media statements.”
Sorry George (Photo: Parlement)