/ 26 May 2013

ANC backs Radebe over timing of Guptagate report release

Anc Backs Radebe Over Timing Of Guptagate Report Release

"It is the absurdity of this call that is astonishing," said ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga.

The Sunday Times reported that certain opposition parties wanted Parliament to schedule a motion to condemn the justice minister for not tabling the Guptagate report in a reasonable time before a debate in the National Assembly.

Democratic Alliance chief whip Watty Watson told the newspaper he had written to the secretary of Parliament, Mike Coetzee, to have a motion berating Radebe placed on the National Assembly's order paper.

Congress of the People acting chief whip Julie Killian said her party "wholeheartedly" supported the move.

Radebe released the full report just moments before the debate in the assembly on Wednesday.

The report investigated the April 29 landing of a private jet, chartered by the Gupta family, at the Waterkloof Air Force Base. On board were 270 guests at a Gupta family wedding at Sun City.

Breach of protocol
The government initiated the probe into the landing and into a possible breach of diplomatic protocol.

Mothapo said the ANC was surprised the DA was complaining as it had previously rejected calls for the debate to be held in June.

"They, in fact, argued it [the report] was immaterial to the debate and therefore it should not affect the programming of the debate."

Mothapo said the ANC was "pleased" with how the government had handled the unauthorised landing. It was "reflective of a government which was open, transparent and accountable."

Meanwhile, on Sunday, DA parliamentarian Anchen Dreyer said a motion to debate the National Key Points Act in Parliament had been provisionally scheduled for June 6.

"There seems to be a selective use of this legislation in order to protect the government from embarrassment," she said in a statement.

During the 'Guptagate' debate, Radebe said Waterkloof Air Force was not a national key point but a strategic military base. – Sapa