Cape Town - Western Cape legislature speaker Masizole Mnqasela will be charged with misconduct, the DA federal executive (FedEx) has resolved.
DA Western chairperson, Western Cape, Jaco Londt made the announcement on Thursday after the party’s Federal Legal Commission (FLC) made the recommendation to the FedEx.
The party had handed over documents to the Hawks for investigation after two whistle-blowers provided Premier Alan Winde with submissions relating to alleged subsistence, travel and entertainment allowance claims linked to Mnqasela.
“The DA FedEx has resolved to accept the FLC recommendation.
“As required by the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, the DA has also reported the matter to the Hawks for investigation, including the documentary evidence provided in the protected disclosures,” said Londt.
He said the party had a zero-tolerance approach to corruption, and when “evidence-based allegations arise”, they hold their office bearers to account, without “fear or favour.”
Cape Times attempts to get a response from Mnqasela and his office for comment were unsuccessful on Thursday.
Mnqasela voiced out in May that he was not guilty and he was not a thief.
This was after the senior DA member advised to step down amid the investigation.
The party moved to suspend from all party activities.
GOOD party secretary-general and member of Parliament Brett Herron said the DA should explain why Mnqasela was being treated differently than the deputy speaker, Beverley Schäfer, who was found guilty of wasteful expenditure.
“Schäfer was a place-holder MEC for six months and then kept an official car she was not entitled to, because the luxury BMW she was using had a bicycle rack, and the luxury Audi she was allocated after she became deputy Speaker did not. That’s the poorest excuse for abuse of office I’ve ever heard. She couldn’t pay for a bicycle rack herself on her R2 million salary? The DA should explain why the two of them are being treated differently,” he said.
ANC Head of Communications Sifiso Mtsweni said they will refuse to allow the internal DA “factional and racist laced” disciplinary processes to spill into the legislature and provincial government.
“We will wait for the outcome of the investigation. We want to establish whether what will happen to the speaker is what will also happen to the deputy speaker. Once the conduct committee has completed its work and they are found guilty, we will call for them to resign,” said Mtsweni.
Director at the School of Public Leadership professor Zwelinzima Ndevu said the fact that the DA suggested that Mnqasela be charged with misconduct may mean from their point of view he has a case to answer.
“I hope it is not part of a political process to deal with dissenting voices within the party. It does not look good for him though as we know people who have challenged leadership with the DA have either been dismissed or resigned,” he said.
Professor Sipho Seepe said joining the DA as a black person comes with “challenges and embarrassment”.
“The embarrassment for a black person under such conditions is three fold: first it is at a personal level. Second it is at a political level in a mainly white space, and third at a social level within the black community. Both communities will have no pity for him. In a white space it will be just another black casualty that has been put in his place. In the black community it is a case of what did he expect,” he said.
DA provincial leader Tertuis Simmers however said the party had rules and regulations that its public representatives ascribe to.
“The discipline approach towards a DA member is based on due process in terms of either a governance approach or party process depending on how a complaint was made, not the race of a DA member,” said Simmers.
Cape Times