A senior MP in charge of parliament's ethics committee has slammed National Assembly Speaker Frene Ginwala and sent the first signals yesterday that the ruling party would defend the official who wrongly shredded confidential documents.

Former transport minister Mac Maharaj, under investigation by the Scorpions for money paid to his wife Zarina by Durban businessman Schabir Shaik, claims the confidential section of parliament's register of members' interests would have shown he declared the money.

Investigations by the Cape Times show that the shredding of the documents was in apparent violation of the National Archives Act (43 of 1996), which provides for the management and care of the records of governmental bodies.

According to Graham Dominy, the national archivist, all state records, including those belonging to "any legislative, executive, judicial or administrative organ of state", should be managed and destroyed according to the act.

"The National Archives Act says that the disposal of records can only be done with the approval of the national archivist," said Dominy.

Ginwala is livid about the shredding of the documents without parliament's permission, and has slammed political parties after the ethics committee was unable to hold its last two scheduled meetings because it did not have a quorum.

But ANC MP Llewellyn Landers, chairman of the committee, yesterday spoke out in defence of the registrar of members' interests, Faziela Mahomed, and lashed out at Ginwala's criticism of his committee.

Landers said he had received reports from his colleagues that the Speaker appeared to be on a "crusade" against the ethics committee.

"I don't like the idea of these one-person crusades - I understand Madam Speaker was on some kind of crusade at the rules committee (on Tuesday)," Landers said.

However, he conceded that someone should perhaps be held accountable for what had happened.

With acknowledgements to Jeremy Michaels and the Cape Times.