South Africa’s official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) says it will try to establish exactly which Members of Parliament are — or were — indebted to Parliament for the improper use of air travel vouchers.
In a statement following the postponement to October 17 of the trial of 23 MPs and five travel agents by the Cape High Court on Monday, official opposition chief whip Douglas Gibson said: “It seems that several hundred MPs were originally named and that anything up to a hundred had a civil liability to Parliament. Because of the undue time which has elapsed, some people feel that the whole scandal, apart from the 28 currently charged, should be swept under the carpet. The DA does not share that view.”
Gibson added: “I will this week try to establish exactly which MPs are or were indebted to Parliament, flowing from the improper use of air travel vouchers. I want their names and the details of the repayment terms which were negotiated. I want to know whether they paid or are paying interest, and which MPs have stopped paying.”
He said Travelgate would only go away when the public was satisfied that every MP who benefited improperly has paid back every cent, with interest, and that those who had committed criminal offences had been charged criminally. – I-Net Bridge