/ 1 January 2002

Marais to face the music on Monday

The New National Party’s head council in the Western Cape is likely to meet this week to appoint a new premier for the province, following the resignation of Peter Marais on Friday on new sex claims.

A woman, who had worked in Marais’ office while he was a Western Cape MEC and later in the office of the province’s previous director-general Dr Niel Barnard, is expected to lay charges against the former premier on Monday.

Martha Olckers, one of two NNP Western Cape deputy leaders, said on Sunday the party’s executive committee was to decide when the meeting to discuss Marais’ replacement would take place, and that as yet, no notification had be sent out.

”But, I think it will be this week,” she said.

Piet Meyer, the most senior NNP Cabinet member, will be sworn in as acting premier on Monday. Marais will continue to serve as an MPL.

The party is allowed 30 days to choose a candidate for the position.

NNP national leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk told a press conference on Friday that Marais was facing possible criminal charges relating to ”inappropriate personal behaviour”.

”Our impression is not that Mr Marais is guilty,” he said.

Western Cape police said they were, as of Sunday afternoon, unaware of any charges having being laid against the flamboyant politician.

Speaking on Friday, Marais welcomed a police investigation. ”It gives me a chance once and for all to prove my innocence,” he said.

The new claim is the latest in a series of sexual harassment allegations against Marais, who is already facing a lawsuit from party colleague Audrey van Zyl.

Sources in the legislature have said the latest complainant is in her 20s and had gone for psychological counselling after her experience. She is believed to be in safe keeping.

The incident reportedly took place in 1999.

According to the Sunday Argus, attempts were made by provincial officers over the past few weeks to persuade her to state that Marais had never harassed her, while the Sunday Times reported that Barnard — who Marais fired as DG — had made a video tape implicating Marais in a sexual assault.

The woman is apparently also one of two female employees that were seen removing boxes containing official papers from Barnard’s office in March this year.

The Desai commission last week heard testimony that two female employees in the former DG’s office were found removing boxes containing papers, including some confidential documents on security matters.

At Marais’ instigation the commission is, amongst other things, probing the discovery in Barnard’s office of the controversial electronic Watchdog, capable both of sweeping for electronic bugs and monitoring conversations.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance on Sunday attacked Van Schalkwyk, labelling him ”a desperate man” and arguing that it was laughable for his party to make ”some sort of virtue out of his so-called decisive action on Marais”.

”The truth is that he failed to act for months.

”Far from taking decisive action Marthinus van Schalkwyk seems to have done his level best to protect and cover-up for Peter Marais,” DA Chief Whip Douglas Gibson said in a statement.

He also said that Van Schalkwyk’s hopes of senior public office have faded, partly ”because of his stupid support for Peter Marais when it was no longer reasonable or sensible”.

”Now that Peter Marais’s career has seemingly ended, Marthinus van Schalkwyk may have to accept the premiership as a poor second prize instead of becoming a cabinet minister,” he said.

The NNP left the Democratic Alliance late last year and entered a cooperation agreement with the ruling African National Congress.

Van Schalkwyk’s spokesman Riaan Aucamp on Sunday repeated an earlier statement regarding speculation that the NNP leader would take over the premiership of the Western Cape, telling Sapa: ”It is has not been raised nor considered.” – Sapa