The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday said the utterances by President Cyril Ramaphosa about the abuse of state funds were of a serious nature.
Scopa has discussed the letter by ANC MP Mervyn Dirks who complained to the committee, saying President Ramaphosa turned a blind eye to abuse of state funds to fund party election campaigns.
He bases this on a recording of Ramaphosa where the president is apparently heard admitting to using public money for ANC activities.
The Scopa meeting was to get a legal opinion from Parliament’s legal advisors as well as a briefing from Dirks.
Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa told the committee that while the audio clip was incomplete, what the president said was serious.
Dirks told MPs that his submission must not be seen as a betrayal of his party.
He said it was no small matter to request the president to appear before a parliamentary committee and the seriousness of the matter could not be overemphasised.