EFF not ruling out legal action to review appointment of Parliament's secretary

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is not ruling out going to court to review the appointment process of Parliament secretary Xolile George if the Auditor General (AG) doesn’t fully explain her audit finding for the 2023/24 financial year.

The party believes documents relating to George’s 2022 appointment may have been withheld during the audit process after no irregularities were found.

In his first year of appointment, George received a salary bump of more than 70%.

While the EFF remains unconvinced, the Joint Committee on the Financial Management of Parliament says it’s satisfied with the process and the audit findings.

The EFF is battling with the Auditor General over the protracted salary saga, saying no independent audit was carried out to verify Parliament’s process to appoint Xolile George at a salary almost double what was earmarked.

The party’s Omphile Maotwe says the party does not mean to undermine the AG’s office by questioning her audit finding, but that it needs more clarity to determine whether to seek a judicial review.

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“This thing is corruption, this thing, there’s irregularity here. People must not take it personal [and say] we are attacking an individual.”

But the acting co-chairperson of the parliamentary committee, Cameron Dugmore, said the EFF is clutching at straws.

He said the majority of the committee is satisfied with the documentation it received, and perused at a meeting earlier this month, now views the matter as closed.

“There’s absolutely no chance of them succeeding by taking this matter to court. Not only was the matter dealt with in general by the Auditor General when she reviewed the financial statements of Parliament, but there’s a specific report on the process of the appointment of the Secretary to Parliament, which specifically looked at all the issues.”

Maotwe says it’s unconscionable that Xolile George earns more than the president, the Chief Justice and the National Assembly speaker - and that his salary cannot be benchmarked against that of CEOs in the private sector.

The AG’s office is yet to respond to a request for comment.

According to Parliament’s most recent audited financial statements, George now earns an annual salary of more than R5 million.