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ActionSA notes the Speaker’s public communication of her decision to decline ActionSA’s request for an urgent debate. As communicated on Sunday by ActionSA MP, Dereleen James, our request called for urgent parliamentary intervention in light of the explosive allegations made by the KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, allegations that pose a grave risk to national security and therefore warrant the immediate attention of Parliament.

Importantly, while ActionSA acknowledges the Speaker’s response directing the Portfolio Committees on Police, Justice and Constitutional Development, and the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence to address the matter within the scope of their mandates, we believe this approach is disjointed and risks diminishing both the seriousness and urgency of the issue. The allegations are clearly interrelated, and fragmenting them across multiple committees will fail to provide the cohesive oversight required.

The allegations raised by Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi cannot be meaningfully addressed in isolation. Referring different aspects of the matter to various committees will not produce the coordinated and effective oversight needed to fully uncover the truth.

ActionSA is particularly troubled by the decision to refer parts of the matter to the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, which will render a crucial component of the investigation secretive. This is inappropriate for a matter that demands transparency and public confidence in Parliament’s efforts to get to the bottom of serious allegations.

ActionSA has therefore written to the Speaker requesting a reconsideration of her position and for the establishment of a Joint Committee comprising all three relevant committees to interrogate the matter. This would provide the only coordinated and effective mechanism through which the seriousness of these allegations can be properly ventilated.

Issued by ActionSA Parliamentary Leader Athol Trollip MP