The Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) says Parliament should rely on its code of ethics to address calls for the Speaker of the National Assembly Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to step down.
Opposition parties have called for her resignation, following the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigative Directorate’s raid on her home in Johannesburg yesterday.
Mapisa-Nqakula is facing corruption allegations.
She allegedly demanded and received bribes worth R2.3 million from a contractor when she was Defence Minister.
However, Mapisa-Nqakula has maintained her innocence.
PSAM’s Programme Head Zukiswa Kota says, “We would call out on the Speaker to act in good faith and the code of conduct also highlights that where there’s doubt, even in the context of financial misconduct, a member must act in good faith and so we would really call on the Speaker and the party to consider what does that look like and perhaps yes, she must step back while this investigation is underway.”
