Sisulu lid on reports ‘may spark conflict’

MORE conflict might arise over Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu ’s refusal to furnish interim reports on the state of the military, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said yesterday. This came as the chairman of Parliament’s portfolio committee on defence, Nyami Booi, called on Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and Speaker Max Sisulu to intervene in the row between Ms Sisulu and MPs.

DA MP David Maynier said Ms Sisulu’s reluctance to allow MPs to view the reports could be proof of the “damning contents of the reports”. “The DA’s position is clear. The interim reports should be furnished to the portfolio committee. I think those reports contain damning information on the state of the military, particularly on issues of morale,” Mr Maynier said. He said it was strange that Ms Sisulu could refuse to release the reports, while she had already implemented their recommendations. “These interim reports have already resulted in action by government,” he said.

Ms Sisulu last week conceded that she had acted on interim findings of the commission, notably by adjusting the pay of lower ranks in the defence force. Mr Maynier also accused Ms Sisulu of “consistently refusing to be accountable to Parliament” and said she appeared intent on keeping the interim reports under wraps for good, as she had only undertaken to release the final version to the committee. Ms Sisulu continued to insist that she could not release interim reports because they were “work(s) in progress”. She said she was only obliged to release the final findings of the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission and, even then, only after its report had been endorsed by the Cabinet.

It was reported that Mr Booi forwarded legal opinion, indicating MPs had a right to view the reports, to Mr Motlanthe in his capacity as head of government business in Parliament and to the speaker. “It has been given to those offices,” Mr Booi said. However, yesterday the offices of Mr Motlanthe and Ms Sisulu said that they had not been formally approached to intervene in the impasse.

Interim findings by the commission were leaked to the Sunday Times and painted a damning picture of service conditions in the military. It warned that this undermined morale and potentially even national security.

Source: Business Day
Also see commentary by Pierre De Vos, in his article entitled "The Princess and the Moon"