The Presidency and the African National Congress (ANC) moved on Friday to dispel Democratic Alliance (DA) allegations over President Thabo Mbeki’s refusal to release the Khampepe commission’s report on the Scorpions.
There was no intention to ”cover up” the report as alleged by DA leader Helen Zille, the Presidency said in a statement.
In its most recent correspondence to the DA, the Presidency informed the party of Mbeki’s ”intention to release the report … at an appropriate time without compromising the defence, security and international relations of the Republic”.
”The party’s public agitation on this matter is therefore surprising,” the Presidency said.
On Tuesday, Zille refused the Presidency’s request for an extension of the 30-day deadline to comply with the DA’s request for the report in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act.
In view of this, the Presidency refused the request on the grounds that doing so would ”cause prejudice” to South Africa’s national security.
Zille responded on Thursday by saying: ”Invoking threats to national security smacks of a cover-up.”
The terms of reference for the Khampepe commission were simply to look into the mandate and location of the Scorpions.
”I fail to see how releasing a report of this nature constitutes a threat to national security. The president’s refusal to release the report is clearly motivated by internal party political pressures,” she said.
In its statement on Friday, the Presidency said that, consistent with its commitment to transparency, the government discussed at length the recommendations of the report in a statement issued on June 29 2006.
As communicated to the DA, the government had, as required by law, to ensure that the release of the report, in part or whole, did not ”compromise national security, among others”.
”This is why the report could not be given to the DA at the time that the party demanded,” the Presidency said.
The report would be released when legislation on the review of structures dealing with organised crime was tabled before Parliament.
Government proposals in this regard were at an advanced stage and would soon be tabled to Cabinet.
”Any suggestion of a cover-up on the part of the government is not only baseless but an irresponsible way of seeking political mileage.
”In reality, it is intended to force government into taking ill-considered and illegal decisions in the false pretext of a commitment to transparency. The government will not take illegal decisions,” the Presidency said.
In a separate statement later on Friday, the ANC dismissed as ”nonsensical statements” Zille’s claim that the Presidency’s refusal to release the report was due to some ”internal battle raging within the ANC”.
”This is a complete fiction. At best, it shows Zille to have an overactive political imagination; at worst, a cynical disregard for the truth,” the ANC said. — Sapa