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DA wants probe into Mbeki book
21/01/2007 14:20 - (SA)
Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance (DA) has asked for a probe into the
alleged misleading of Parliament by the minister in the presidency, Essop Pahad.
The DA has accused Pahad of misleading Parliament by denying, in November 2004, that the Presidency had facilitated deal with author Ronald Suresh Roberts for a book on President Thabo Mbeki's intellectual traditions.
Cape High Court documents had since shown that a deal had indeed been brokered.
"In light of that information, Mr Pahad's response was not honest and misled Parliament. He must now provide an explanation for his reply," DA MP Gareth Morgan said in a statement on Sunday.
It was clear from the court documents that Pahad had not
answered the question "honestly".
DA Chief Whip Douglas Gibson had written to the Speaker in the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, asking her to set up an ad hoc committee to probe the matter.
Morgan said Pahad answered "no" when asked whether the
Presidency had facilitated the book deal; whether the Presidency had entered into a contract for the writing of the book; and whether Presidency employees had been securing corporate sponsorships for the book.
He had admitted only that the Presidency had paid Roberts for previous work, saying: "Yes, the Minister in the Presidency commissioned the writer for research and preparing a draft for a lecture on international relations for which he was paid an amount of R20 500 in December 2003."
- SAPA
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