EDITORIAL: Accused former speaker does the right thing

She did it reluctantly and under pressure but the resignation by corruption accused Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as speaker of the National Assembly was the right thing to do for the integrity of the institution, among the highest in the land. 

Initially, despite mounting calls for her resignation, she merely took special leave. But after the defeat in the high court of her application contesting her arrest and the imminence of her court appearance, her continuance in her prominent role became untenable. 

Mapisa-Nqakula appeared in the Pretoria magistrate’s court on Thursday on 12 counts of corruption and one count of money-laundering. She is alleged to have received while minister of defence more than R2m in bribes from a former defence department contractor in return for government tenders. 

Remaining in her post would have required the ANC in the midst of its election campaign to defend her against a motion of no confidence submitted by the DA and given the go-ahead by acting speaker Lechesa Tsenoli. Opposition parties were unanimous that she should go and it was better for the ANC’s reputation that it not be put in a position of having to defend a compromised speaker ahead of the May elections. 

Corruption and maladministration has crippled ANC-run municipalities around the country, leading to a collapse of service delivery in many cases. Voters will express their displeasure about this at the ballot box. Polls suggest that the ANC will lose its majority and be forced into a coalition.

Already in the run-up to the elections the credibility of the party’s anticorruption stance has been tainted by the inclusion of state capture commission accused on its list of candidates. Its application of the step-aside rule which requires that party members who have been criminally charged must voluntarily step aside from their positions has been inconsistent. 

It is astonishing for example that former mineral & resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane, who was recommended for criminal prosecution by the Zondo commission and has been charged with fraud, theft, money-laundering and corruption in relation to the R280m Estina dairy case, remains an MP,  though he did step down as chairperson of the transport committee and is not included on the ANC’s list of candidates.

The ANC is notorious for having repeatedly closed ranks in the National Assembly around members of the executive under attack by the opposition, prioritising party interests over those of the country. An example was the use of its majority to reject a motion to establish a parliamentary inquiry into allegations of theft at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm.

The report of the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture found that parliament had failed dismally to hold the executive to account and prevent state capture. In June 2023 chief justice Raymond Zondo said nothing had changed and if there was another attempt at state capture parliament would not be able to prevent it. 

Given her mediocre performance in various ministerial roles and the scandals that surrounded her when she was minister of defence, it is questionable whether Mapisa-Nqakula should have been appointed speaker in the first place. Far too often parliament has been the dumping ground for ANC politicians who do not merit being public representatives. Recycled former ministers or MECs end up on the parliamentary benches.