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I have noted a statement by the ANC which makes deliberate misleading claims regarding the Western Cape Provincial Parliament’s Code of Conduct Committee and the Appeals Committee.

The ANC’s claims of the DA capturing these committees are entirely devoid of all truth:

The Appeals Committee, currently dealing with a specific appeals matter, is chaired by a member of an opposition party. The ANC was present and voted when the House agreed to the Appeals Committee being chaired by a member of the opposition. It is thus ridiculous to now claim that the DA has “captured” this committee.

Additionally, it is the responsibility of the Chairperson of the Appeals Committee to schedule committee meetings, subject to the Legislature’s Programming Authority which is tasked with scheduling all meetings in the Provincial Parliament. These meetings are then subsequently set out in the parliamentary programme. The ANC should be aware of this process since they have representation on the Programming Authority.

Finally, the ANC is well aware that the Conduct Committee is scheduled to sit on 9 November as this date has been on the parliamentary programme for a month. The Conduct Committee, as with any other committee of the Provincial Parliament, is scheduled in accordance with the parliamentary programme and the business of the House.

In a cheap exercise of political grandstanding, the ANC has been caught in a lie. If the ANC was as concerned with their parliamentary work, as they are with bungling their internal elections, they would know these basic facts. We will not stand for the Code of Conduct and Appeals Committees to be used as an electioneering tool. These are multi-party committees, that operate without fear or favour, and this attack on their integrity cannot go unchallenged.

The work of these Committees is governed in accordance with the Western Cape Code of Conduct Act and the Standing Rules of the Provincial Parliament. The scheduling of these meetings is ultimately guided by the Programming Authority, where the ANC has had ample opportunity to raise concerns, and with due regard for the business of the Provincial Parliament.

As Conduct Committee Chairperson, I am of the view that by making these false allegations, the ANC is deliberately attempting to bring the Committee, and consequently, the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, into disrepute by deliberately misrepresenting the facts. We cannot and will not allow the ANC or any other political party represented in the Legislature to bring the integrity of the Code of Conduct and Appeals Committees into question. Nor will we allow any party to bring the Provincial Parliament into disrepute for the reason of shallow political point-scoring.

The ANC must be held to account. As such, this matter will be formally brought under the attention of the Conduct Committee to deal with in accordance with its prescripts.

Issued by Wendy Kaizer-Philander, MPP -