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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Speaker of the National Assembly to request the tabling of a motion to establish an ad hoc inquiry into the dubious appointment of the Secretary of Parliament (STP), his astronomical salary increase and the misleading of Parliament.

This follows the attempt by the Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management of Parliament (JSCFMP) to declare the matter “closed” through a press statement that does not reflect a lawful committee decision.

A committee decision cannot be manufactured after the fact and presented to the public as if due process was followed. There was no formal vote, no adopted resolution, and no properly concluded deliberation by the Committee to justify this so-called closure.

It is quite clear that this matter will not be duly dealt with by the Committee, and a Parliamentary Inquiry is in order to avoid political choreography. What makes this even more concerning is that this follows the exact same ANC playbook used in the 6th Parliament, where legitimate DA concerns about irregularities in the appointment process were dismissed and buried rather than investigated.

The Committee has conveniently ignored the findings of the independent Pillay SC legal opinion, which explicitly stated: “There is a prima facie case that warrants investigation and a hearing.” The same legal opinion was buried in the 6th Parliament. That finding has never been overturned. It has simply been ignored because it is inconvenient.

The documentary record further raises serious questions that remain unanswered.

Evidence shows that the position was advertised, applications received and screened, yet the process was abruptly halted before an offer was made directly to Mr Xolile George. Equally concerning is the discrepancy between what Members of Parliament were led to believe regarding the salary, approximately R2.6 million,  and the final package exceeding R5 million per year. These are not minor administrative issues. They go to whether Parliament itself may have been misled.

The reliance on Auditor-General processes is also being misused. The Auditor-General assessed procedural compliance. The Pillay opinion, however, raises the far more serious question of whether Members were misled in approving the appointment. What South Africans are witnessing is an attempt by ANC-aligned chairpersons to force through a politically convenient outcome by presenting the ANC narrative as fact.

Accountability must be elevated through a Parliamentary Inquiry into the matter. In a constitutional democracy, oversight is not optional and it cannot be replaced by a press release or three.

Issued by Rikus Badenhorst MP - DA and member of the Joint Standing Committee on the Financial Management of Parliament