The DA has demanded answers from parliament over whether secretary to parliament Xolile George disclosed an alleged personal relationship with public protector Kholeka Gcaleka, warning that the matter raises serious governance and ethical concerns.
The opposition party said it was dissatisfied with what it described as “buck-passing” by parliament’s executive authority after it asked whether George had declared a possible conflict of interest arising from the alleged relationship.
The row follows a complaint lodged by the DA on February 5, 2026, with the public protector and other bodies regarding George’s salary increase of more than 88% since 2022, as well as the alleged misappropriation of funds linked to the 2023 BRICS Summit at Emperor’s Palace.
In a letter dated February 11, 2026, Gcaleka responded to the DA after it emerged that she and George are allegedly in a romantic relationship.
She stated: “In line with Section 3[14] and [15] of the Public Protector Act 23 of 1994, I immediately disclosed to Adv N Nkabinde, the chief operations officer, and Adv N vd Merwe that I may reasonably be perceived to have a conflict between my private interests and my official duties in this matter.”
Conflict-of-interest provisions
The DA chief whip in parliament, George Michalakis, said while the exact nature of the relationship was not his concern, the fact that Gcaleka had recused herself showed it was serious enough to trigger conflict-of-interest provisions.
“The question now is: did the secretary to parliament make a declaration to the executive authority of parliament [the speaker and chairperson of the National Council of Provinces], declaring the same possible conflict of interest?” Michalakis said.
He argued that the public protector is the head of a Chapter 9 institution that may in the future investigate matters involving parliament, where George serves as the accounting officer.
“This means he therefore has an ethical obligation to disclose such a possible conflict,” Michalakis added.
According to the DA, when it posed this question to the speaker of the National Assembly, it was told that the matter “falls within the responsibility of the Office of the Public Protector to respond”.
Michalakis rejected this explanation, saying the impact of any conflict would affect George’s work as much as that of the public protector.
“The DA will continue to pursue the matter with the speaker, and we urge the media to also demand a clear response from the executive authority of parliament in the public interest and that of accountability,” he said.
Sunday World has sent media enquiries to parliament and to the Office of the Public Protector seeking clarity on whether George was required to make such a disclosure and whether he did so.
Responses were still pending at the time of publication.
