Thursday, 13 July 2017 - The Speaker of the National Assembly will refer the report listing witnesses who allegedly misled Parliament when they appeared before the ad hoc committee’s inquiry into the SABC board to the Portfolio Committee on Communications in August. The Parliamentary Legal Services submitted the report to the Speaker in June.

As part of processing the report, the Speaker wrote to individuals cited on the list, inviting them to make submissions by the end of July on the serious allegations they face. In terms of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, a person who wilfully furnishes a House or committees with information, or makes a statement before it, which is false or misleading, is liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both the fine and imprisonment.

The Speaker will, after the lapse of the deadline, pass the list of the affected individuals and their submissions over to the committee for further handling in accordance with the rules of the Assembly. The Speaker is in no position to disclose the names of the affected individuals publicly before a committee process has begun.

Any insinuation that the Speaker seeks to quash a parliamentary probe into these allegations is erroneous and without basis.

ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

Enquiries: Moloto Mothapo 082 370 6930