Parliament on Thursday said it had suspended its deputy secretary for support services, Baby Tyawa, pending the conclusion of an investigation “into allegations of irregularities relating to the administration of Parliament.”
Parliament’s spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the secretary to parliament (STP) has commissioned an independent investigation to look into the allegations.
He stressed that the decision to place Tyawa on precautionary suspension does not imply her guilt.
“The Executive Authority of Parliament has also requested an investigation into the security breach and the subsequent fire on the precinct on 2nd and 3rd January 2022. The STP is required to provide the necessary support to the investigators, and employees who are required to assist the process will be identified during the course of the process,” Mothapo said.
“It is important to appreciate that no person or persons have as yet been identified as at fault , or complicit in any of the alleged transgressions. Any actions taken by the STP in pursuance of the process will be to ensure that the investigation proceeds unhindered.”
The decision to launch a probe into the fire that gutted parliament in January comes a day after government said it had set aside R2-billion to rebuild parliament after parts of the building were gutted by a fire at the start of the year.
Tabling his medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) at the Cape Town City Hall on Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said Treasury is working with parliament’s presiding officers, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo to restore and rebuild parliament.
“Over the medium-term expenditure framework, we have made an allowance for approximately R2-billion for rebuilding our parliament,” said Godongwana.
The finance minister explained that the amount to rebuild Parliament was divided into two parts, being cash for the unforeseen and unavoidable costs since moving to the City Hall and the money for the actual technical work of restoring the structural integrity of the august house.
The National Prosecuting Authority has claimed that the man suspected of starting the fire, Zandile Mafe, has confessed to his alleged crime.
The state claims that Mafe had said after his arrest that it was the “right thing to put Parliament on fire as at the moment it is not helping the people of South Africa ”.
