Tjotjo claims: Will Mapisa-Nqakula step aside?

THE ANC will not ask National Assembly Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to step aside, yet.

In a statement on Thursday, 21 March, party spokeswoman, Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the ANC was aware of Mapisa-Nqakula's special leave from Parliament due to law enforcement actions and bribery allegations against her.

“The ANC will enforce its integrity and step-aside policies based on the facts as they arise,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.

Mapisa-Nqakula is accused of taking bribes totaling R2,3 million. They were allegedly paid in cash. The bribery allegedly took place when she was Minister of Defence.

The Sunday Times reported that Mapisa-Nqakula was named in an affidavit submitted to the Investigative Directorate (ID) by the owner of Umkhombe Marine, Nombasa Ntsodwa-Ndlovu, a company responsible for transporting SANDF cargo during military operations.

Rise Mzansi has joined several political parties that have called for her resignation. The party’s head of internal democracy, Boitumelo Mpakanyane said the dignity and reputation of Parliament suffers with every hour that passes with Mapisa-Nqakula in office.

“Rise Mzansi calls on Speaker of Parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, to place the people of South Africa ahead of her interests by vacating office before she makes a court appearance,”  Mphakanyane said.

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She said Parliament has for the last 30 years been reduced to the whims of the governing party.

Mpakanyane said: “There's enough record of this. From the days of covering up for the arms deal to the moment of disbanding the Scorpions, to the years of protecting former president Jacob Zuma and the Guptas and most recently the botched mission to hold outgoing President Cyril Ramaphosa accountable for the dollars stuffed in his furniture at Phala Phala farm.

“If there's one institution of democracy that has been muted by the current government, it's Parliament, a place that meant to be the voice of the people.”

She said when Mapisa-Nqakula was removed from Cabinet, she had demonstrated that she was unfit to hold public office and allegations of her corruption were already known at the time through a whistleblower who implicated her.

“There's no greater evidence needed by South Africans that our country needs new leaders. The current stock of politicians in the governing party has demonstrated a penchant for living beyond their means and financing their lifestyles through many forms of illicit conduct. It's just a matter of time before the next one is also caught out,” said Mpakanyane.