Mervyn invited to appear before SCOPA

The African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament, Mervyn Dirks has confirmed that the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) has invited him to brief it on his letter on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appearance before the committee.

He has confirmed that he is expected to appear before the committee on Tuesday next week.

 ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina slapped Dirks with a precautionary suspension for not withdrawing the letter he has written to SCOPA Chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa.

Dirks wants the President to share information about his knowledge of the alleged misuse of public funds for political party activities.

This follows a leaked audio recording circulating on social media of Ramaphosa’s utterances during an ANC NEC meeting.

In his letter, Dirks says Ramaphosa admits being aware of public funds that were used for party political campaigning at NASREC.

Dirks who is facing disciplinary action says while he is willing to  appear before SCOPA, his predicament is that the letter of his precautionary suspension may prevent him from participating in any Parliamentary activities.

This includes appearing before SCOPA as he has been invited as a member of the committee. In the suspension letter from Majodina,  Dirks’ SCOPA membership has been withdrawn.

He has also been relieved of his duties as the Whip of the ANC SCOPA Study Group and as the Questions Whip of the ANC Parliamentary Caucus.

His membership of ANC Strategy will also be suspended, Dirks has also been removed from Caucus WhatsApp groups. However, Dirks confirmed that he still remains a member of Parliament.

Political commentator Oliver Dickson shares more on the issue: