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Johannesburg - Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane has hailed the referral of the Nkandla ad hoc committee's terms of reference to Parliament as a victory for accountability.
He said: "The terms of reference are critical to the work of the committee."
Maimane said only when the terms of reference included consideration of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's "Secure in Comfort" report on Nkandla, could the committee do its job to hold President Jacob Zuma to account.
"Without this, there is no guarantee that the Nkandla ad hoc committee will get to the bottom of how R246m of taxpayers' money was spent on President Zuma’s private residence," he said.
The first sitting of the committee earlier on Friday hit a deadlock between the African National Congress and opposition as the opposition refused to elect a chairperson until the mandate was reworked to expressly include the public protector's findings.
Maimane said without that inclusion, the committee could not fully consider the Zuma’s compliance with Madonsela's submitted remedial action.
"I call on the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, to urgently undertake the necessary consultations and table the terms of reference to Parliament, within five days of Friday’s date," he said.
