Step-aside rule under fire as Gigaba refuses to step down

Malusi Gigaba

Cape Town – ANC National Executive Committee member Malusi Gigaba has reportedly said he will not step aside as co-chair of parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD), despite facing corruption charges in the Johannesburg High Court.

Last week, EFF’s Carl Niehaus raised concerns that Gigaba’s continued role represents a conflict of interest, given his alleged links to state capture and oversight responsibilities over defence matters involving the Gupta family and Denel.

“The Joint Standing Committee on Defence met today in order to receive a presentation by Prof Heinecken and Dr Letitia Olivier, regarding SANDF deployments and related challenges,” Niehaus said.

“However, before the briefing commenced I raised on behalf of the @EFFSouthAfrica our serious concern about ANC MP, #DrMalusiGigaba continuing to co-chair the Joint Standing Committee on Defence in the light of having been criminally charged l, and a conflict of interest with the Oversight Work of the Joint Standing Committee.”

However, according to The Citizen, Gigaba said that the ANC’s internal step-aside rule applies only to party activities and does not override parliamentary rules, and he will continue fulfilling his constitutional and parliamentary duties.

He also clarified that he has not been chairing meetings since his charges were laid.

Article written by