Posted on

BLF’s repeated violent behaviour at Parliament cannot be tolerated

The DA is dismayed by yet another violent disruption of Parliamentary business by Black First Land First (BLF), the second such incident in little over a year.

In May 2017, BLF leader Andile Mngxitama and his fellow gang of belligerents was forcefully ejected from a joint meeting of the Finance and Trade and Industry committees. During the melee, Mngxitama referred to Chairperson Joanmariae Fubbs as a “fascist” and got involved in a physical confrontation with Chairperson Yunus Carrim.

Today it was the turn of Mngxitama’s toadies who physically confronted a delegation that was invited to present to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs.

I will be writing to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, to ask that the matter be investigated and that the Legislature consider banning the responsible members of the BLF from attending committee meetings and Parliamentary sittings.

I will also ask that the Presiding Officers lay criminal charges against those involved, in terms of Section 7 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliaments and Provincial Legislatures Act (Act 4 of 2004), failing which I will do so myself.

Public participation in the People’s Parliament should be encouraged; however, the BLF’s thuggish behaviour and amateur dramatics should not be tolerated. The important work of Parliament cannot be disrupted due to this irrelevant organisation’s insatiable appetite for attention.

Posted on

PIC must disclose details of R70bn worth of investments in its “unlisted investment portfolio” in SA

One of the first tests of the new Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni, is whether he will support the disclosure of detailed information about R70 billion worth of investments made by the Public Investment Corporation in its “unlisted investment portfolio” in 2017/18.

The Public Investment Corporation has disclosed detailed information about investments in its “unlisted investment portfolio” for the past two years before the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement has been presented in Parliament.

However, this year:

  • no disclosure of detailed information has been made by the Public Investment Corporation about investments in its “unlisted investment portfolio” during 2017/18;
  • no provision has been made for hearings on the Public Investment Corporation’s 2017/18 annual report and annual financial statements by the finance committee in Parliament; and
  • there seems to have been an “about turn” when it comes to greater transparency at the Public Investment Corporation.

The fact is that National Treasury is now opposing provisions that would promote greater transparency that are contained in my Private Members Bill, entitled the Public Investment Corporation Amendment Bill [B1-2018], which is before the finance committee in Parliament.

We have to ensure that detailed information about investments, especially investments in the “unlisted investment portfolio”, is disclosed, because it serves as a major disincentive to “rent-seekers” with political influence who want to raid the Public Investment Corporation.

I will, therefore, write to Dr Dan Matjila, Chief Executive Officer of the Public Investment Corporation, requesting him to disclose detailed information about the R70 billion worth of investments made by the Public Investment Corporation in its “unlisted investment portfolio” in 2017/18.

And I have already written to Yunus Carrim, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, requesting him to schedule a hearing with the Public Investment Corporation during the fourth term of Parliament.

We will not back down and will continue to fight for more transparency so that the Public Investment Corporation does not become a “piggy bank” for the governing party in South Africa.

Posted on

Tom Moyane must submit the Lovells and Motau reports before 13 March 2018

The DA has written to the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance (SCOF), Yunus Carrim MP, asking him to request SARS Commissioner, Tom Moyane, to submit the Hogan Lovells and Adv. Motau reports on Jonas Makwakwa before 13 March 2017.
Moyane is scheduled to appear before SCOF on the 13th of March 2017 and it is essential that these reports are submitted in time to enable Parliament to perform its oversight function on the controversial circumstances that saw Makwakwa reinstated as the second in command at SARS.
Should Moyane fail to submit the reports as requested, I will recommend that Parliament considers taking legal action to force him to release the reports.
Makwakwa’s suspension, triggered by findings made by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), was controversially lifted based on reports conducted by Hogan Lovells and Adv. Motau. This was despite the fact that these reports did not investigate the allegations that the suspension was based on.
Moyane has done everything in his power to protect Makwakwa even to the point of misleading and possibly lying to Parliament, as reported in the Daily Maverick on the 7th of March 2018.
The DA will ensure that when Moyane’s appearance before SCOF is used to make him account on why Makwakwa was reinstated after being suspended over serious allegations of involvement in illegal activates and financial crimes.
Moyane must understand that the ‘jig is up’ and his attempts to further delay the release of the Lovells and Motau reports only serves to cast doubt over his suitability to continue leading the tax revenue service.

Posted on

Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. scandal hearings were a predictable shambles in Parliament

The Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Yunus Carrim, was warned that there was a significant risk that the hearings into the scandal surrounding “accounting irregularities” at Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. would turn into a shambles in Parliament.

The fact that the hearings turned out to be a shambles with members of four committees, including the Standing Committee on Finance, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Standing Committee on Appropriations and the Portfolio Committee on Public Administration, being prohibited from cross examining witness from Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. , was entirely predictable.

The effect of the shambles was a “powder-puff hearing’, which did not subject Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. to scrutiny, but protected Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. from scrutiny by Parliament.

We will immediately begin work towards scheduling proper hearings, where members can cross examine witnesses from Steinhoff International Holdings N.V., in Parliament.

We have to be tough on crime in the private sector, and tough on crime in the public sector, and will not allow Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. off-the-hook in Parliament.

In the end, the hearings into the scandal surrounding “accounting irregularities” at Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. were not just a national, but an international embarrassment, for Parliament.

Posted on

FSB and others fail to respond to finance committee on the scandal surrounding Steinhoff

A copy of the correspondence between DA Shadow Minister of Finance, David Maynier MP, and the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Yunus Carrim, is enclosed [here].

To his credit, the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Yunus Carrim, wrote to a number of institutions on 14 December 2017 requesting them to provide information within seven days, or as soon as possible thereafter, on the scandal surrounding “accounting irregularities” at Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.

These institutions included the Financial Services Board, Government Employees Pension Fund, Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, National Treasury, Public Investment Corporation and the South African Reserve Bank.

However, finance committee members have only received three responses, including responses from:

• Bernard Agulhas, the Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors, on 14 December 2017;
• Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, on 18 December 2017; and
• Linda Mateza, Acting Principle Executive Officer, Government Employees Pension Fund, on 19 December 2017.

This despite the fact that the scandal surrounding “accounting irregularities” at Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. is a matter of enormous public importance that has wiped out the savings of thousands of ordinary people in South Africa.

It is completely unacceptable for the Financial Services Board, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, National Treasury and Public Investment Corporation to be asleep at the wheel and fail to respond to the Standing Committee on Finance.

That is why I have written to the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Yunus Carrim, requesting him to light a fire under the defaulters and demand that they immediately respond to the request for information on the scandal surrounding “accounting irregularities” at Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.

Posted on

Standing Committee on Finance must get stuck into the ‘accounting irregularities’ scandal at Steinhoff

David Maynier MP, DA Shadow Minister of Finance, correspondence with Yunus Carrim, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, is enclosed [here].

On 11 December 2017, I wrote to the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Yunus Carrim, requesting him to consider scheduling public hearings on the scandal surrounding “accounting irregularities” at Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.

Since my request, the scandal at Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. has snowballed with:

• the resignation of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Dr Christo Wiese, on 15 December 2017;
• the resignation of the Chief Financial Officer, Mr Ben la Grange, on 04 January 2018; and
• the news that the 2015 financial statements could no longer be relied upon and would have to be restated.

However, I have not received a formal reply to my request, although a public statement was issued following my request for public hearings, on 12 December 2017, stating that:

“Working with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the Committee will play a full oversight role and will call the regulatory bodies, the National Treasury, the PIC, GEPF, Steinhoff representatives and any other stakeholders to account to Parliament as soon as it reconvenes in late January 2018.”

I have, therefore, written to the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Yunus Carrim, requesting him:

• to confirm that the public hearings will go ahead; and
• to provide further particulars on the public hearings, including the names of witnesses that will be invited to appear at the public hearings and the dates on which the public hearings will take place in Parliament.

We need to ensure that members, and former members, of the Supervisory Board and the Management Board of Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. appear before the finance committee in Parliament.

We need to know what they knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it when it came to “accounting irregularities” at Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.

We need to be tough on crime in the public sector, and tough on crime in the private sector, and that is why we need to get stuck into what may be one of the biggest corporate scandals in the history of South Africa.

 

Posted on

Tom Moyane intimidates Parliament to protect Jonas Makwakwa

South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner, Tom Moyane, has written a threatening letter to Yunus Carrim, the Chair of the Standing Committee on Finance, insinuating that distribution of an FIC report implicating Jonas Makwakwa in financial misconduct was illegally tabled at the parliamentary finance committee.
The FIC report has been publicly available on the internet, but instead of taking action on its findings, Mr Moyane seems to be working tirelessly to stop those implicated from being held to account.
I have therefore written to Malusi Gigaba, the Minister of Finance, urging him to:
• to ensure that Tom Moyane suspends Mr Jonas Makwakwa from his duties at SARS with immediate effect, at the very least until the Hawks investigations into possible money laundering of the proceeds of crime have been completed.
• work with the Minister of Police to ensure that the Hawks investigations into possible money laundering of the proceeds of crime by Mr Makwakwa and Ms Elskie are dealt with urgently.
It is not acceptable that Mr Tom Moyane, as a civil servant, can put Parliament on trial by demanding that the Parliamentary legal adviser provide the link on the internet from which the FIC report was obtained.
Worse still, the claim in Mr Moyane’s letter that the FIC report in my possession was somehow illegal is a clear attempt to intimidate and stop me from holding SARS to account.
This tactic by Moyane is not going to work and only reinforces my resolve to exercise my oversight function without fear or favour.
In the interests of good governance, Mr Moyane’s concern must be to ensure that action is taken on the findings made in the FIC report and the subsequent Hogan Lovells, PWC and Advocate Motoa reports on the Makwakwa issue. These reports must be made public in order to show all South Africans that SARS Mr Moyane is serious about restoring the reputation of SARS.
The DA will hold Mr Moyane and SARS to account until sanity is restored at the tax collection authority.

Posted on

Standing Committee on Finance must get stuck into Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.

David Maynier MP, DA Shadow Minister of Finance, correspondence with Yunus Carrim, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, is enclosed [here]
The scandal surrounding “accounting irregularities” at Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. may be one of the biggest corporate scandals in the history of South Africa.
That is why I have written to the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Yunus Carrim, requesting him to consider scheduling public hearings on the scandal surrounding Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.
The public hearings should in my view be scheduled on or about 30/31 January 2018 and the following witnesses and/or institutions should be invited to appear:
• Overview & Impact: Mr Dondo Mogajane (National Treasury);
• Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. (Supervisory Board):
o Dr Christo Wiese (Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.), Mr Johan van Zyl (Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.) and Dr Steve Booysen (Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.);
• Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. (Management Board):
o Mr Markus Jooste (Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.) and Mr Ben Le Grange (Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.);
• Auditors: Mr Patrick Seinstra (Deloitte B.V.);
• Regulators: Advocate Dube Tshidi (Financial Services Board), Ms Nicky Newton-King (Johannesburg Stock Exchange), Mr Tom Moyane (South African Revenue Service), Mr Lesetja Kganyago (South African Reserve Bank) and Mr Bernard Agulhas (Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors);
• Pension Funds: Mr Abel Sithole (Government Employees Pension Fund); and
• Asset Managers: Dr Dan Matjila (Public Investment Corporation).
We need to be tough on crime in the public sector, and tough on crime in the private sector, and that is why we need to get stuck into what may be one of the biggest corporate scandals in the history of South Africa

Posted on

Resignation of Michael Sachs plunges the budget process into chaos in the middle of a fiscal crisis

The Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, tried to reassure us that there was “nothing to fear” from the new “budget prioritisation framework” during his briefing following the medium-term budget policy statement on 26 October 2017 in Parliament.
However, the shock resignation of veteran budget office head, Michael Sachs, which is a huge blow to National Treasury, confirms our fears that decision-making on budget priorities, and the budget itself, have now been centralised under President Jacob Zuma.
We now have:
• a “Presidential Fiscal Committee” making decisions about the budget at the expense of the Minister’s Committee on the Budget;
• a “Mandate Paper” setting out budget priorities, in terms of a new budget prioritisation framework, compiled by the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, at the expense of National Treasury; and
• that is not to mention rogue elements, such a Morris Masutha, who are reportedly peddling a R40 billion budget-busting plan for higher education, with the support of President Jacob Zuma.
What this means is that in the middle of a “fiscal crisis”, which Michael Sachs himself described as the most challenging since the global financial crisis, decision-making on the budget has been plunged into chaos.
And it seems that National Treasury are slowly being “defanged” and reduced to “bookkeepers”, with declining influence over budget priorities, and the budget itself, under President Jacob Zuma.
That is why I will write to the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Yunus Carrim, requesting him to schedule an urgent hearing on this matter before the end of recess in Parliament.
We can only hope that there is no snowball effect and that other senior officials at the apex of the system hold steady do not resign from National Treasury.
 
 

Posted on

Secret budget prioritization document should be made public

The reply to DA Shadow Minister of Finance, David Maynier MP’s, request for access, in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (No. 2 of 2000), to the document setting out the budget priorities, referred to as the “Mandate Paper”, can be found here.
The Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, who appears to be the new “budget tsar”, has refused my request for access to a document setting out government’s budget priorities, on the grounds that it is a “classified cabinet record”, just days before the medium-term budget policy statement is delivered in Parliament.
On 18 September 2017 I submitted a request for access to the so-called “Mandate Paper”, in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (No. 2 of 2000), which sets out government’s budget priorities, in term of a new “budget prioritization framework”.
However, in a letter dated 17 October 2017, my request was refused on the grounds that the “Mandate Paper” was a “classified cabinet record”.
The fact that the document setting out government’s budget priorities is classified and cannot be made public is bizarre, especially when the Constitution specifically states that the “budgetary processes must promote transparency”.
Worse, the reply states that:
“…the Minister indicated that the Mandate Paper is an instrument for budget prioritisation, and the process through which it is developed will be strengthened as part of the process of institutionalizing planning, which includes the introduction of legislation. At this stage it is part of the process that will culminate into the engagement of all stakeholders towards institutionalisation of planning more broadly, which will kick-start during the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Forum hosted by DPME on 12 and 13 October 2017.”
What this really means is unclear but what it does suggest is that, when it comes to the budget prioritization process, chaos reigns in government just days before the medium-term budget policy statement is delivered in Parliament.
That is why I have requested the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Yunus Carrim, to request the Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, to make a presentation on the budget prioritization process at the briefing on medium-term budget policy statement scheduled to take place on Thursday 26 October 2017 in Parliament.