Grahamstown - Comradeship within government could result in more "irregularities", like the R43bn arms deal being swept under the carpet, PAC MP Patricia de Lille said here on Sunday.

She also said that President Thabo Mbeki is the country's "chief executive officer".

"The country needs a president who can stand on his own feet and act against those in Parliament who do wrong. It's not about what people do, but who is doing it," she added.

De Lille was one of the guests speaking at the Standard Bank National Arts Festival's Winter School, where this year's theme is "What is going on here?"

She also stood up for Judge Willem Heath's defunct Special Investigating Unit, which was excluded from the probe into the controversial arms deal. "The unit is the only authority which can obtain a court order to cancel the arms contract. That is why they were excluded early."

Corruption no surprise

She said she was not really surprised at the alleged corruption in government that is being linked to the arms deal.

"Those in the old government at least did things with finesse. They packed money in trunks and paid it into overseas bank accounts. The new guard buys brand new cars for themselves, making it easier to get caught," she said.

De Lille told how she and the other political parties had tried to stand together to tackle the arms transaction. "People's egos are too big. It was all about who addressed the issue first. I had to take all the flak in parliament for it on my own."

She said the role of the opposition should not only be for the sake of having an oppostion in Parliament. "It's about what is good for the country. I sometimes feel very alone as the only voice of opposition. Those who voted must act on their rights to question the many things that are going wrong in the country."

Her next campain is to tackle who the owners and shareholders of the country's big casinos are "that make money from the poorest of the poor."

A nation of gamblers

She predicts that many of the names will include chief whips from black empowerment businesses and the black elite.

"The lottery has made us a nation of gamblers," said De Lille. She is going to appeal to opposition parties to encourage their members to boycott the lottery until clarity is obtained on how much money will be given to welfare organisations and how quickly they'll receive it.

Others who will be speaking about controversial happenings in the country's political halls include cartoonist Zapiro and journalist Tim Modise.

With acknowledgement to the Beeld and News24.