DA doubles down on allegations against Songezo Zibi

Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson on finance, Dr. Mark Burke, has called RISE Mzansi leader and SCOPA chairperson Songezo Zibi’s denial of withholding access to PIC documents “blatantly false.”

Newsday recently reported on Burke’s accusation that the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) has been stonewalling MPs from accessing key documents of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).

Burke said the documents could include forensic reports on PIC investments and ongoing investigations into officials.

RISE Mzansi rejected Burke’s claims as “baseless,” stating the documents were processed and sent electronically to committee members.

The party added that SCOPA’s focus on the multi-billion-rand Road Accident Fund (RAF) has diverted resources, but that work continues undeterred.

The PIC is a government-owned asset manager overseeing over R3 trillion in public funds, including the Government Employees Pension Fund and Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Its investments have occasionally drawn scrutiny for governance lapses, including a Judicial Commission of Inquiry that exposed irregularities in various deals, setting a precedent for ongoing oversight concerns.

“This dossier may include various forensic reports related to the PIC’s disastrous investment and oversight of Daybreak Foods and updates into investigations related to former and current officials,” said the DA MP.

Speaking to Newsday, Burke said that arguing that there is no basis to his claims “is blatantly false.”

Correspondence between the two has been seen by Newsday. It started with WhatsApp messages asking to view the documents in Zibi’s office.

This was followed by an email on 11 October asking for a follow-up on their September 17th request.

“This email summarises all the DA attempts to access these documents as far back as September – Zibi has not until this point denied the facts of this email,” said Burke. “All we asked for was access to a room with the documents.”

He said that when MPs were sent the package of documents this morning, they found that “they do not contain everything that was asked for – far from it.”

“There are no forensic reports. Limited or no updates on officials facing investigations. In one instance the PIC sent through a response on entirely the wrong court case,” said Burke.

“Zibi not only allowed the PIC to bizarrely courier physical documents and only later ask for electronic versions – wasting months – he did not even perform, or allow us to perform, basic fact checking.”

RISE Mzansi has rejected these claims, saying that it “will not allow the work of Parliament and its Committees to be dictated to and sullied by the childish outbursts on a single MP.”

“Diligent and ethical parliamentary work is time consuming and requires patience and maturity. It is not microwave politics or child’s play,” added the party.

Intimidation allegations

RISE Mzansi also accused Burke of a pattern of disruptive behaviour, including verbal outbursts and threatening conduct toward other MPs.

“Burke has an established and unacceptable behavioural pattern marked by disrespect and tantrums when he does not get his way. This is one such instance,” said party spokesperson Mabine Saebe.

Saebe said that on Tuesday, Burke “harangued Mr Zibi in front of other MPs, prompting another MP to intervene—only to also face Burke’s verbal and near-physical outburst.”

Responding to those allegations, Burke told Newsday that he went to the meeting, of which he is an alternate member, briefly so that he could converse with a DA colleague during a drinks break.

“While talking to the colleague, Zibi approached me. He told me he had the documents, I consistently asked him for a specific time that I could come to his office to view them.”

“He consistently evaded giving me a time. He instead condescendingly told me to watch my behaviour and told me to take whatever steps I needed to take.”

“If asking for access to public documents is bad behaviour, then I’ll proudly bear that label,” added Burke.

DA accuses Songezo Zibi of gatekeeping PIC scandal documents