The multiparty committee investigating whether provincial Premier Ebrahim Rasool misled the legislature has appointed a constitutional labour expert to help it in its task.
This is according to an official in the speaker’s office.
The committee met for the first time on Friday morning and decided to appoint advocate in the high court and University of Cape Town professor of labour law Halton Cheadle as a consultant.
An official from the speaker’s office said the committee appointed Cheadle to help them decide on procedure for their investigation as there were no clear rules on how it should be conducted.
The committee expects to meet with Cheadle shortly and decide on their next step.
The six-person committee is chaired by provincial deputy speaker, Yousuf Gabru. The other members are Zodwa Magwaza and Chris Stali, both of the African National Congress, Lennit Max and Kobus Brynard, both of the Democratic Alliance, and Mzwandile Manjiya of the United Independent Front.
The formation of the committee follows a DA motion on March 13 which was unexpectedly supported by the ANC.
The motion called for a probe into whether Rasool misled the legislature in statements last year over community safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane’s spending on security upgrades to his home.
It noted that the then-provincial auditor general had contradicted the premier.
However the motion has since been amended on the initiative of the ANC to provide for a more general investigation into whether the house was misled, without specifically targeting Rasool. — Sapa