Parliament’s rebellious defence committee succumbed to political pressure yesterday, agreeing to continue work on the Defence Amendment Bill despite not yet being supplied contentious reports by Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
Earlier this month the committee made history by becoming the first in the democratic era to issue an ultimatum to a minister and the Cabinet. The committee had ruled that it could not continue work on the bill until it had considered reports of the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission, which variously described conditions in the military as a ticking time bomb and a threat to state security. The committee also gave the Cabinet 30 days to make the reports available. Ms Sisulu had insisted she could not provide the reports until the Cabinet had considered them. The commission gave her the reports eight months ago. When the committee met yesterday its chairman, Mnyamezeli Booi, tabled a letter from National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu, which described the decision to suspend work on the bill as incorrect and criticised the committee’s belief that the reports would inform its work on the Defence Amendment Bill.
Democratic Alliance MP David Maynier said the committee should stand its ground and refuse to work on the bill until the reports are supplied. He accused Ms Sisulu of being bloody-minded about the reports and wondered why eight months had passed and they still had not been dealt with by the Cabinet. But he was left without support as the rest of the committee decided to resume work on the bill.
Freedom Front Plus MP Pieter Groenewald said he agreed with Mr Maynier’s criticism of the length of time it was taking for the Cabinet to process the bills, but it was the committee’s function to do what was in the best interests of the South African National Defence Force.
The bill will create a permanent service commission to consider conditions in the military and it is common cause that the commission is urgently needed. Other MPs couched their reversal in similar terms, saying it would be irresponsible to maintain their position on the bill because delays now would mean it could not be processed by Parliament until next year.
Mr Booi said: “As a committee we go along with the contents of the letter of the speaker and feel that we should continue with the bill. “We will restructure the programme of the committee to restart the process.”
Mr Maynier said it “may be a victory for the minister but it is a defeat for our constitutional democracy”.
Source: Business Day
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