The multiparty committee that will inquire into whether Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool misled the legislature will hold open hearings next Monday, its chairperson said.
Provincial deputy speaker Yousuf Gabru, who is chairing the six-person committee, said on Tuesday the premier, former provincial auditor general Imraan Jeewa and the present auditor general, Justin Hendricks, were all invited to appear before the committee.
They were also all invited to call any witnesses they wanted.
Since its April 20 appointment, the committee has held closed meetings to finalise procedure and fine-tune the timetable.
It also appointed advocate and University of Cape Town professor of labour law Halton Cheadle as a legal consultant.
Besides Gabru, the other members of the committee are Zodwa Magwaza and Chris Stali, both of the African National Congress (ANC), Lennit Max and Kobus Brynard, both of the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Mzwandile Manjiya of the United Independent Front.
The formation of the committee follows a DA motion on March 13 that was unexpectedly supported by the ANC.
The motion called for a probe into whether Rasool misled the legislature in statements last year over provincial minister of community safety Leonard Ramatlakane’s spending on security upgrades to his home.
It noted that Jeewa had contradicted the premier.
However, the motion had 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