IOL News reports that former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is off the hook after the Powers and Privileges Committee dropped an investigation against her for greatly inflating the salary of the Secretary to Parliament, Xolile George.

The salary of George was pushed up from R2.6 million to more than R4.4m a year in 2022. That led to the official opposition filing a complaint with the committee to investigate Mapisa-Nqakula. But Parliament’s legal adviser Andile Tetyana told members of the committee on Wednesday that as Mapisa-Nqakula had resigned as both speaker and MP, the committee had no jurisdiction to investigate her. Acting chairperson of the committee, Mankentsi Tlhape, said they should agree that the matter was now moot and the investigation shouldbe dropped. ANC deputy chief whip Doris Dlakude said she agreed with the legal advice tabled that the committee did not have powers to probe matters outside of the national legislature. DA deputy chief whip Annelie Lotriet said parliament had taken a decision to appoint George on wrong and incomplete information. She said they could not accept the fact that the matter was now moot because Mapisa-Nqakula had resigned.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siyabonga Mkhwanazi at IOL News
• Read too, Committee won’t pursue Mapisa-Nqakula over parly boss’s salary hike, at Sunday Times Daily (subscriber access only)

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