Defence co-chair Gigaba rejects claims of shielding Motshekga from accountability

CAPE TOWN - The African National Congress (ANC) parliamentary caucus has refuted allegations that Joint Standing Committee on Defence co-chairperson, Malusi Gigaba, is shielding Minister Angie Motshekga from accountability. 

The ANC study group on defence and military veterans has rallied behind Gigaba, saying the allegations made by the Democratic Alliance (DA)'s Nicholas Gotsell, regarding the R813 million allocated for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) deployment allowances are unfounded. 

Gotsell said this week that Motshekga has not been to Parliament to account for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) deployment for months, and she is being shielded from accounting by the joint committee. 
  
The National Council of Provinces member on Security and Justice, Gotsell, has written to the National Assembly to escalate what he calls the failure of the committee to hold a meeting to get to the bottom of what happened to the missing R813 million, which is unaccounted for by the SANDF. 

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He said the committee continues to fail to secure Motshekga's appearance and that Gigaba refuses to call her to come to appear.

But the ANC said following the tragic deaths of 14 SANDF members in the DRC, the committee convened a joint sitting with the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans.

The party said Motshekga has consistently honoured committee engagements and, when unavailable, she has submitted written apologies. 

Gigaba also responded in a statement calling the allegations “unfounded, disingenuous, and illogical”. 

Gigaba also noted that the minister has attended many committee meetings in the past to account for her department's spending.