In an open letter to me as the Speaker of KwaZulu-Natal Legislature which was widely published by many media houses this week, Hon Blessed Gwala makes many unfounded allegations which have a potential to hoodwink the public and blemish my name.

It is therefore important to set the record straight as democracies survive and thrive in an enabling environment where allegations can be put to the test and these very democracies are threatened when institutional processes and systems are not utilised and allegations are thrown into the court of public opinion for narrow opportunistic self-interest. 

The Legislature is a constitutional institution, an arm of government, that is distinct from the executive arm of government and therefore must be beyond reproach in exercising its mandate.  It is for this reason that it becomes critical to respond to every unsubstantiated allegation of Honourable Gwala.

In so far as Hon Gwala’s allegation that the Rules don’t provide an opportunity for questions to be directed to the Speaker, is concerned, section 117(1) (a) of the South African Constitution gives all Members of the Legislature freedom of speech in the debates of the House and any of its Committees. This includes a member not being liable for any civil or criminal activity, or damages due to anything which he has said or produced to the Legislature or any of its Committees. The spirit and the letter of the Constitution has been codified under Rule 48 of the Standing Rules of the Legislature.

Furthermore, Chapter 2, Part 1, section 4(1) of the Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures, as amended (Act 10 of 2009) creates an oversight mechanism that must maintain oversight of the financial management of Parliament/ Legislatures as the case may be. All parties represented in the Legislature are therefore able to interrogate the actions of the Speaker, being the Executive Authority and the Accounting Officer, being the Secretary to the Legislature.

In the context of the KZN Legislature, the oversight mechanism exists in the form of the Standing Committee on Oversight wherein all political parties are duly represented and can pose direct questions to the Speaker and Accounting Officer.  Hon Gwala, who is the Chief Whip of the IFP, is a member of the Standing Committee on Oversight of the Legislature and the IFP is represented as the Official Opposition in that multi-party committee. 

It therefore is a misrepresentation that the ‘Rules limit the taxpayer's ’right to know about how their money is being spent’.  In addition, the Constitution and FMPPLA create ample opportunity for engagement on issues of this nature.  Further, the Speaker has set up a regular meeting forum that has been in operation since last year providing a platform for leaders of political parties to raise issues of concern with the Speaker and where the Speaker also shares information with political parties.  

Regrettably, Honourable Gwala has opted to mislead the public with spurious allegations claiming that no structure exists for political parties to ask direct questions to the Speaker. Be that as it may, below are facts on matters raised in the open letter.

Gwala alleges that I have abused taxpayers money by refusing to use a car purchased by the legislature.  This is false. When I became the Speaker, I was informed that the car used by the previous Speaker had reached 120 00 kilometres and had been referred to the disposal committee, in accordance with established policy. I was then given options of using a hired car or the personal one and be reimbursed for kilometres travelled on official business purposes.

It is important to underscore that the use of private vehicles for business use is provided for in the Ministerial Handbook that is applicable to Members of the Executive and the Speaker of the Legislature and therefore not illegal.

However, when the Speaker assumed office, there was no transversal contract allowing the legislature to purchase a vehicle for the Speaker. Throughout the period, I had been requesting that this matter be expedited by administration and there is documented evidence to that effect. The legislature has been partaking in the provincial government transversal agreement that was still under amendment at that time. This was resolved when the new RT57 contract was awarded by the Department of Transport and the legislature purchased the car through that contract.

During that period, I was using my personal car. The normal process of recording travelled kilometres on the log books and getting reimbursed on the rate per kilometres applicable to the office I hold as per the regulation, was followed. It is therefore not true to allege that I refused to use the car that was used by my predecessor.

In so far as the allegations pertaining to the appointment of the Executive Manager, we can only assume that Hon Gwala is referring to the recent appointment of the Executive Manager Parliamentary Service. The post was widely publicised in the regional and national newspapers and a successful candidate was already in the employ of the KZN Legislature. The relationship that exists between me as the Speaker and the successful candidate is not dissimilar to that which exists with other employees of the Legislature, which is the formal relationship of any workplace.

The recruitment for the post was held in line with the legislature’s known and open recruitment policies, a product thereof who is the current incumbent of this position has grown through the ranks of the legislature since joining the institution in 2006 and met the requirements, at the level of qualification and experience.

On the issue of the post being changed from being a five-year contract, the Legislature was guided by the case law and precedence that has been widely applied within the legislative sector that an employee who applies for a higher position cannot be promoted on worse favourable conditions than he/she currently enjoys.

We understand that Hon Gwala might have forgotten some of the incidents that took place during the Fourth term in the legislative sector. I want to remind him that a Parliament Senior Legal Adviser successfully used two case laws (which are publicly available) to be appointed on a permanent basis. And when the KZN Legislature Senior Manager responsible for legal services was appointed in 2013, he also used the same case laws and precedence to have his post permanent.

Accordingly, precedent exists for taking such a route and failure to do so would have exposed the Legislature to legal challenges.  The Legislature therefore acted prudently in this regard. We want to underscore that our recruitment process is managed by the Human Resources unit as required by legislature regulations.

Honourable Gwala queries the appointments in the office of the Speaker.  We want to state categorically that the Legislature is always guided by policies and procedure when recruiting for political offices. Whilst Hon Gwala speaks to three positions, we want to put it on record that all appointments made in the Office of the Speaker since the beginning of the sixth term were all done using the procedure which has been in place since the advent of the democratic dispensation which is aligned to guidelines contained in the Ministerial Handbook in so far as it regulates staff appointment in the office of the Executive Authority. Hon Gwala wants to know why the Media Officer was promoted to D2 level instead of D1 level. We wish to inform him that the Media Officer is employed and remunerated at salary level D1 and not D2. This is in line with the approved organisational structure. 

The organogram of the Office of the Speaker does not have a Deputy Manager as alleged by Honourable Gwala. But not withstanding that, the cadet of professionals employed in the office of the Speaker were all employed following due processes.

The Legislature notes the unsubstantiated allegations of the ‘ongoing rot’ in the Office of the Legislature Secretary and has instead opted to provide the following facts in relation to a R3 million in respect of a ‘futile document on the post 1994 era in the Legislature’.

On the allegation of wasting R3 million on a post 1994 legacy book and the dilly-dallying of the Speaker on the matter, I must acknowledge that Hon Gwala has been in the legislature since 1994 and whilst there is an expectation that he understands the sector properly, there is another reality of betrayal by memory.

The document that he is referring to, is titled the Makings of a Grand House which was a project undertaken by the previous term. We all know that the Speaker that could have been mentioned in the open letter could not have been the one referred to have been dilly-dallying. The project in question was part of the commemoration of the 20 years of democracy which was a decision of the legislative sector.

Legislatures were further urged to identify specific projects that they would embark on in celebrating the 20 years of democracy and KZN chose the legacy book. Contrary to what Honourable Gwala has stated, the Legislature did not appoint one person to produce a document but commissioned a company through an open bid process to produce a book on the 20-year legacy of the legislature.

This company brought together eminent writers who could produce a book on the evolution of the legislature and the road traversed to the democratic breakthrough in 1994 for KZN including the last minute political discussion which brought the IFP to participate in the 1994 elections.

The book has not been reviewed nor have we registered any intention to review it yet and it remains available in all provincial and municipal libraries. So once more the allegation made by Gwala is not true nor represents any facts at the disposal of the hon member and the public. The Legislature maintains that the funds used for the book were well spent as there exists a shortage of literature on the KZN Legislature.

Finally, Hon Gwala gives the Speaker 21 days to respond with the threat of reporting to the Hawks or the Public Protector's Office.  This is welcome because as the Speaker who is charged to exercise accountability and oversight of how the tax payers’ money is spent, we are first to open ourselves to accountability.

It is for this reason that we have consistently appeared before the Standing Committee on Oversight where the legislature accounts to all parties and of which Hon Gwala is a member of, representing his party. I have also set a platform for party leaders where issues that affect the legislature and our mandate as legislators are discussed openly by leaders of parties and the IFP participates religiously.

It has been our conduct from the beginning of the term to subject ourselves to public scrutiny and we will continue doing so. In that spirit whilst we cannot prove that what manifests the allegations of "Leninism" in the running of the Speaker, I will endeavor to encourage our workforce to continue delivering at the high and commendable standards that they have done so far. I encourage them to take any available opportunities for self-development that the institution may offer in order not only to better serve the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature but to be of service in the building of the Capable state in our country. 

I commit to also send this response to the Standing Committee on Oversight of the Legislature so that they also follow up on any matters that they may find to have been against the Regulations as well as Standing Rules of the Legislature. If there is anything we would have opted to be known for, it would have been having served the mandate bestowed upon us by the Constitution of the Republic.

Issued by Nontembeko Boyce KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Speaker