Tracking 'crooked comrades'

GLYNNIS UNDERHILL CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - Oct 08 2009 15:31

The DA's newly launched Crooked Comrades Monitor smacks of "desperation and sheer opportunism" and is an attempt to tarnish the image of the ruling party and its cadres, the ANC says.

The DA claims the online archive is designed to keep tabs on those who have fallen foul of the law or been found guilty of maladministration, wrongdoing or other transgressions. The monitor will only focus on those appointments made since President Jacob Zuma came to power.

The idea of creating a record of "crooked comrades" gained momentum when the ANC's defence and military veterans committee chair, Mnyamezeli Booi, resumed his post after pleading guilty in court last week to defrauding Parliament in the infamous "Travelgate" scandal.

The DA said Booi had joined a growing list of key public representatives with "dubious track records" and that the monitor was the party's response to growing cries for accountability.

"At this stage there are around 16 names on the monitor, but we feel confident the list will grow, with help from the public," said the chairperson of the DA's federal council, James Selfe. "At the moment there seem to be no consequences or accountability for serious offences, and instead people seem to be rewarded."

ANC spokesman Brian Sokutu warned the DA that should the monitor be found to involve defamation, it should expect legal action. "The deployment of our cadres into the public and private sector is not a matter for the DA but for the ANC," he said.

The monitor includes some Travelgate MPs, who were involved in abusing parliamentary travel vouchers. Joining them is Paul Ngobeni, now legal adviser to Lindiwe Sisulu, the minister of defence and military veterans. Ngobeni was allegedly found guilty of seven counts of misconduct in Connecticut in the United States.

Jessie Duarte, who has been promoted to chief operating officer in the Presidency, is another prominent figure on the list. Duarte resigned as Gauteng's minister for safety and security after a commission of inquiry found there was a "strong suspicion" she had covered up the circumstances of an accident involving her official car.

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