Cape Town – The joint standing committee on intelligence will have one member appointed soon, but it is short of another in order to form a quorum and take decisions.
This emerged after President Cyril Ramaphosa nominated ANC MP Lusizo Sharon Makhubela-Mashele to serve as member of the joint standing committee on intelligence.
National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula made the announcement during the meeting of the programme committee on Thursday morning.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she received a letter from Ramaphosa on Wednesday.
“I guess all the arrangements will be made for the member. I am assuming that by the time it comes here, everything has been done, vetting has been done and what is left for us is the swearing-in,” she said.
“That is a very positive development,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.
ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina said there had been two names that were submitted to the president and two vacancies in the joint standing committee on intelligence.
“The name of Honourable Lusizo had been submitted months ago and the other name was submitted to replace the other member who passed on so we still have one vacancy.
“If you can follow up on that,” Majodina said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said there was one name, Makhubela-Mashele, in the letter from Ramaphosa.
“We will follow up on the other name. We will check with the office whether the second name is ready for appointment,” she said.
But, National Assembly Secretary Masibulele Xaso said the second name Majodina referred to was submitted to Mapisa-Nqakula’s office over the weekend as a replacement.
“The letter is being processed through the office of the Speaker. That will go to the president for concurrence,” Xaso said.
The Cape Times reported two weeks ago that Mapisa-Nqakula was to follow up with the Presidency on the delays in the vetting process of members appointed to serve on the joint standing committee on intelligence.
Majodina had made the request when the National Assembly programme committee held its meeting.
She said the standing committee was struggling to form a quorum.
Mapisa-Nqakula had indicated that she did not know why there was a delay. However, she said members of the joint standing committee on intelligence were subjected to a vetting process.
“It is possible the delay may not necessarily be with the Presidency. It may be with the intelligence services, but I will check it because I am also concerned,” she said.
“I know that today they are on an oversight mission and there are only three members so we will check that,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.
It was recently reported that DA MP Natasha Mazzoni had yet to attend a meeting of the joint standing committee on intelligence since her deployment last year, pending her security clearance.
Cape Times
