The Patriotic Alliance’s Ashley Sauls has said that the demands of Brown Mogotsi and Paul O’Sullivan to Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee, investigating allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, are “just ludicrous”.

This came as the committee heard that North West businessman, Brown Mogotsi, demanded that Parliament pay for his security detail before he appears before the Ad Hoc Committee.

Mogotsi has also refused to provide his ID number so that accommodation and flights could be arranged. This emerged when committee Secretary Vhonani Ramaano gave a report to the committee before the start of proceedings on Wednesday.

“Mr Mogotsi demanded that we should provide him with protection with his own people,” he said.

Ramaano also said he had contacted Parliament Protection Services, asking that it look at the issue he was raising.

“The offer that was given was that he can come to Cape Town, and as soon as he lands, there will be an escort offered. Mr Mogotsi refused that offer. He says he does not want to be protected by people he does not know. He prefers to have his own people protecting him, and he is requesting that Parliament fund that for a period of seven days.”

O’Sullivan has also made requests that he appear virtually before the committee. The committee has maintained that it will not tolerate a situation in which a witness dictates how they want to appear.

Speaking on the sidelines of the committee hearing, Sauls said that he could not understand why O’Sullivan and Mokgotsi were making these demands.

“One would expect that if they are patriotic South Africans, they would jump at the opportunity to come and help us come to the truth. So it’s very disappointing from Mr O’Sullivan and Mr Mokgotsi, and these demands are just ludicrous. It’s uncalled for.

“Government in Parliament is an authority in this country, and we must respect this authority, this legislative authority. We must do whatever is in our power to compel them to come, because we’re not playing here. We’re trying to get to the truth.”

On the matter of O’Sullivan’s attitude towards the members of parliament, Sauls stated that the witnesses are dealing with a structure of government.

“This is a matter of national security, and no matter what opinions you have about the members of parliament, there’s a certain decorum that equally applies to him. We must show him respect; he must show us respect. It’s very uncalled for; very rude. That should not be how we engage each other.

“If we are patriotic, and we say we want to achieve the same aim, then it stands to reason that you should be open and excited to come and help the effort. I’m very disappointed in Mr O’Sullivan.”

Freedom Front Plus’ Wouter Wessels weighed in, adding that the terms of reference are broad, and that they are trying to investigate too much.

“The issues identified by Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi are actually limited, and we could have investigated limited scopes thereof and referred other issues to the normal portfolio committees of Parliament to delve better or deeper into the rot.

“What we are trying to do now is an impossible task, and this is the wall that we are now facing. We aren’t going to get past it. We’ll deliver a report on the 20th, but what South Africa actually needs and what South Africans want is action and actual improvement that follows from this. And at this stage, with what is happening with witnesses refusing to come here, adds a lot of administrative problems,” Wessels said.

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za

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