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 I strongly suspect that ANC Chief Whip, Dr Mathole Motshekga, is abusing parliament for his own political agenda.

Today Parliament is hosting a conference on “Nation Building through Social Dialogue with the religious sector”. President Jacob Zuma is set to address the conference as a key note Speaker and the entire event is set to cost Parliament R2.1 million, with R715 930 being spent on transporting people to the event and R438 500 on catering.

But no formal multi-party committee has been convened to establish, coordinate and approve the conference and its funding by parliament, and no members of parliament have formally been invited. Not even the leader of the official opposition in Parliament, Lindiwe Mazibuko, has been invited.

While the conference claims to be co-hosted by the “Parliamentary Interfaith Council”, a body which Motshekga fought hard to have established by parliament, the first time members of this council heard about the conference was on Friday 26 October – 4 days before the event.

Our members on the council, and members from all parties, strongly objected to the proposed conference because the process was not open and transparent, nor did it involve members of parliament.

Motshekga appears to have put together the entire event by himself for his own political gain. A report, given to members of the interfaith council, states that the Office of the Chief Whip is: “responsible for the mobilisation of all the participants”.

It’s likely that Motshekga has dipped into the pockets of the National Assembly’s budget for sectoral parliaments. This year’s “People’s Assembly” was cancelled at the last minute, and at last week’s Chief Whip’s Forum Motshekga sought recognition for religious groups as a sector. This proposal was vehemently shot down by me and other members on the basis that it dangerously blurs the division between state and faith.

I will be writing to the Speaker to demand a full account of how this event was established and approved, including its funding. The Democratic Alliance will not tolerate an abuse of Parliament’s name and resources by the ANC for its own political agenda.