Parliament acted on Zondo commission report: Mapisa-Nqakula
Parliament speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, says committees can call in law enforcement agencies to give progress reports on cases.
Parliament speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Ngqakula, says a perception has been created that Parliament needs to act on the Zondo Commission report against members of the national legislature implicated in state capture, which is far from the truth.
She said cases against members of Parliament were referred to the ethics committee and that Parliament cannot go beyond the mandate stipulated in the Constitution.
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PARLIARMENT IS NOT A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
“Parliament cannot take criminal action against any of its members because that was the function of law enforcement agencies.” “Parliament has a responsibility of oversight,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
She was addressing the legislative sector summit in Cape Town on Wednesday and said it was incorrect to suggest that Parliament still needs to act on the Zondo Commission report, the Independent Online reported.
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HAWKS AND SIU CAN BE CALLED BEFORE PARLIARMENT TO ACCOUNT
“Even with the Zondo Commission report, we need to talk about it because a perception has been created that Parliament is not moving on the findings. It’s not true. It’s far from it because much of what has been done has been referred to the different committees.”
She said she has seen the National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Police and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) calling on the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks) and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to appear before Parliament to report on cases they were investigating.
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COMMITTEES CAN CALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO REPORT IN PARLIAMENT
Mapisa-Nqakula also said that in the past, committees have been able to call in law enforcement agencies to give progress reports on cases they were investigating. In these committees, members of the national legislature ask questions about cases.
“I have seen the portfolio committee on police and Scopa invite the Hawks, the SIU and law enforcement agencies and people give statistics about the number of cases they are investigating,” she said.