Speech on Travelgate Scandal Debate by Avril Harding
2004-08-24. The Travelgate scandal has damaged the reputation of all Members of Parliament, even those, such as us in the ID, who are not in any way involved. Even more damage has been done to the institution of parliament through this scandal.
As MPs we are all accountable to the
public. Together with our political parties we are entitled to
information in order to respond adequately. Unfortunately, Parliament
seems to have left this responsibility to the media. We often find out
the latest information in the press.
A number of Presiding Officers have been implicated and as such, the Presiding Officers should not have controlled the flow of information. The Speaker's office should therefore recuse itself from this matter and Parliament should set up a multi-party committee to deal with the distribution of information stemming from the on-going investigations.
This issue has revealed a number of shortcomings with the present travel system at Parliament. The ID recommends that Parliament adopt an e-ticketing system as soon as possible. In addition, it has also highlighted the structural and systemic deficiencies in the support services to MPs.
The ID believes that once the criminal investigation has been completed, then parliament must run its own internal process to discipline those members who have been found guilty. We cannot simply rely on parties to discipline their own members of parliament.
The MPs implicated in this matter did not transgress against their political parties - they transgressed against Parliament. It is vital that we show the South African public that Parliament has the ability to discipline errant MPs. This is the only way in which Parliament can restore its credibility in the eyes of the voter.
Three critical questions beg to be answered:
1. the role of SAA in this investigation and whether they acted inside the ambit of international aviation laws when they divulged personal flight details
2. what role did the State Attorney play in this investigation and why was a firm of private attorneys appointed
3. who appointed Price Waterhouse Coopers and at what cost and why did it take so long for them to compile the report
This scandal is the acid test for the independence of Parliament from party, State and the executive. If Parliament fails this test, we all fail.
I thank you.
A number of Presiding Officers have been implicated and as such, the Presiding Officers should not have controlled the flow of information. The Speaker's office should therefore recuse itself from this matter and Parliament should set up a multi-party committee to deal with the distribution of information stemming from the on-going investigations.
This issue has revealed a number of shortcomings with the present travel system at Parliament. The ID recommends that Parliament adopt an e-ticketing system as soon as possible. In addition, it has also highlighted the structural and systemic deficiencies in the support services to MPs.
The ID believes that once the criminal investigation has been completed, then parliament must run its own internal process to discipline those members who have been found guilty. We cannot simply rely on parties to discipline their own members of parliament.
The MPs implicated in this matter did not transgress against their political parties - they transgressed against Parliament. It is vital that we show the South African public that Parliament has the ability to discipline errant MPs. This is the only way in which Parliament can restore its credibility in the eyes of the voter.
Three critical questions beg to be answered:
1. the role of SAA in this investigation and whether they acted inside the ambit of international aviation laws when they divulged personal flight details
2. what role did the State Attorney play in this investigation and why was a firm of private attorneys appointed
3. who appointed Price Waterhouse Coopers and at what cost and why did it take so long for them to compile the report
This scandal is the acid test for the independence of Parliament from party, State and the executive. If Parliament fails this test, we all fail.
I thank you.
