Chief Whip 'solves nothing' with letter on 4x4 

Senior ANC members have prevailed upon Yengeni to make a disclosure to the ethics committee - no matter 'how messy'

TONY Yengeni, the ANC Chief Whip, has again stubbornly refused to explain to Parliament's Registrar of Members' Interests, Fazela Mohamed, how he came to possess his luxury 4x4, sources said this week.

His response was being closely guarded by Mohamed and the chairman of the joint committee on ethics and members' interests, Sister Bernard Ncube, but word has begun to spread that his explanation, contained in a letter to Mohamed on Wednesday, was inadequate.

As a result Yengeni is expected to face further questions from Mohamed and the ethics committee. One source said the response "did not solve anything". Another said that Yengeni had been stubborn. There was also talk that Mohamed intended to begin a "follow-up" to establish the facts - the next step should Yengeni's response be inadequate. Mohamed said on Friday she had not yet reached that stage and was "still thinking through" her response.

The ANC, which makes up the majority of the ethics committee and which must sanction Mohamed's recommendation, is divided on how to deal with the matter.

On the one hand, there are those who believe nothing will be acceptable short of a full explanation of how Yengeni acquired the car and why he only started paying for it seven months later. Senior members of the ANC have tried to convince Yengeni to make such a disclosure to the ethics committee - no matter "how messy". They argue that since Yengeni did begin paying for the car and had little influence over the final awarding of the contracts, his sanction, if he provides a reasonable explanation for not disclosing it, will be light.

On the other hand are those who argue that it would be sufficient for Yengeni to state whether the car was a gift or a "benefit". An influential member of the committee said that if Yengeni stated it was not a gift (as he has told Parliament), the ethics committee should stand back and allow the legal processes to run their course.

Should the inquiry probing the R43-billion arms deal prove anything to the contrary, the matter would return to the agenda of the ethics committee.

The second approach is the one Yengeni seems to be angling for. In his statement to Parliament, he indicated his willingness to subject himself to a public hearing. The agencies probing the arms deal - the National Director of Public Prosecutions, the Public Protector and the Auditor-General - plan to hold public hearings.

Sources close to Yengeni indicated on Friday that this approach would allow him to provide an explanation unmediated by the press.

There is speculation that Yengeni is averse to the parliamentary process because he is reluctant to be disciplined by his political juniors. Yengeni is the political head of the ANC in Parliament, while there are no obvious ANC heavyweights on the ethics committee.  

With acknowledgement to Carol Paton and the Sunday Times.