DA: Name travel scam MPs

2004-08-10 19:40

Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance has again urged the speaker of parliament to publish the list of MPs implicated in the so-called travel scam, involving alleged fraudulent use of parliamentary travel vouchers.

"The scam surrounding MPs' travel vouchers is doing great damage to parliament collectively, and to individual MPs," DA Chief Whip Douglas Gibson said in a statement on Tuesday.

MPs were now under a cloud of suspicion, and the public could be forgiven for thinking the scandal involved them all.

"There is a list containing the names of 135 MPs, which is in the possession of some newspapers, the speaker (Baleka Mbete), and, presumably, the ANC. No other political party has the list.

"The Democratic Alliance urges the speaker to publish the list so that the public can be fully informed, and so that the 135 MPs on the list can each speak for themselves."

Hiding behind the sub judice rule was completely inappropriate, and the last thing South Africa needed was any suggestion of a cover-up, Gibson said.

"The way to dispel that perception is to play open cards with the public. Likewise, when the Scorpions hand over the list of those MPs they are investigating, that list should also be published.

"The DA has agreed that if any DA member is charged criminally, she or he will be suspended from parliament; if any member is found guilty of any dishonesty, that person will be expelled and lose his or her membership of parliament," Gibson said.

- SAPA