Johannesburg – Parliament has appointed advocate Ncumisa Mayosi as an external initiator in the disciplinary inquiry against EFF MPs who tried to prevent Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan from speaking during a budget vote debate in July 2019.
Briefing the powers and privileges committee on Tuesday, parliamentary legal adviser Andile Tetyana said the committee had decided that National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise appoint the external initiator.
"That meant the committee divested the right to be presented with the names in order to appoint a suitable consel," Tetyana said.
"I am pleased to inform the committee that the initiator has been appointed. Her name is advocate Mayosi," he said.
Tetyana said Mayosi had extensive experience in litigation and her areas of expertise were constitutional and administrative law.
He said Mayosi, who has 12 years’ experience as a junior counsel, had been furnished with documents and video footage of the incident when EFF MPs tried to prevent Gordhan during the budget vote debate.
"The counsel is capable, ready and willing to be of assistance on this matter," he said.
Committee chairperson Philly Mapulane confirmed that the committee had decided that parliamentary staff should not perform the task of initiator for the inquiry.
"We wanted to move as quickly as possible so that the Speaker allocates an initiator to us. We welcome the appointment of advocate Mayosi as the external initiator of this inquiry," Mapulane said.
"It means we have to finalise the programme of the committee so that the advocate can work," he said.
When EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi questioned the appointment of an initiator before a decision was made on legal opinion discussed by the committee, Mapulane told him the matter was about Gordhan's Budget vote not the disruption of the State of the Nation address (Sona) this year.
He said the EFF members were identified after viewing the video footage from last year.
"The programme we are to develop for the initiator is for the budget vote speech. We agreed that we will come back and view the video of Sona," Mapulane said.
Ndlozi said the details on Mayosi should have been part of the documents shared with the committee.
ANC MPs Violet Siwela and deputy chief whip Doris Dlakude also welcomed Mayosi's appointment.
Mapulane said he and the committee support staff would sit down with Mayosi to discuss the programme.
"As soon we finalise the programme we will circulate to all the members," he said.
Mapulane also said the committee would have to find time to consider the Sona incident when the EFF raised points of order in protest against the attendance of former president FW de Klerk.
Political Bureau