“The ACDP is relieved to see the truce between Israel and Hamas that invaded their country and kidnapped more than 200 Israelis and some foreign nationals as hostages. We welcome the release of some of the hostages including South Africans. It is now a known fact from various reports that there were many innocent people that were killed in the process and some women brutally raped. What was even more shameful was to see the wounded and bleeding victims being paraded in the streets and some people celebrating.
I want to appeal to the ANC to prevail upon Hamas, their close-trusted friend, to release all hostages and allow the Red Cross to visit and take note of the conditions under which they are kept, particularly that of the women and children. Am Yisrael Chai!
One of the challenges that this Committee of International Relations has been having for a few years now is the lack of transparency in the Department. A case in point is the circumstances around the suspension of former Director General Mahoai from office. Until today we don’t have facts and we are speculating now.
What the committee expected to happen was for action to be taken against Mr. Mahoai’s predecessor after it became apparent that there has been some wrongdoing during his tenure as DG. Now the question is why has nothing been done and we want to know whether Mr. Mahoai has become the fall guy for what his predecessor did, or what is happening in this Department?
The ACDP would like to know why the concerns of the Committee were not addressed, and why our questions are ignored by both the Minister and the Department.
Unless the Minister and her Department disclose facts of why the former DG Mahoai was fired, suspicions that he was made a scapegoat for the wrongdoing of his predecessor will continue.
The ACDP demands transparency in this Department, and will not support this report until Minister Naledi Pandor and her Department comes clean on this matter.”
