Cape Town - Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon called on President Thabo Mbeki yesterday to expand the scope of the Hefer Commission of Inquiry to include allegations of corruption against Justice Minister Penuell Maduna and Deputy President Jacob Zuma.

The call comes hot on the heels of the suspension of Michael Tshishonga, a deputy director-general in the justice department who claimed that Maduna was instrumental in getting Enver Motala appointed as liquidator of the Retail Apparel Group when the authority for such appointments resides with the master of the high court.

Leon said that the current focus of the Hefer commission the charges that national director of public prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka and Maduna were spies for the apartheid regime, was of historical interest.

"What the public of SA is deeply concerned about is whether or not the deputy president and now the minister of justice have been involved in corrupt or inappropriate practices.

"These are extremely serious allegations which have been made against both individuals in both cases by exceptionally senior public servants."

Leon said that the way in which Mbeki had constituted the commission potentially excluded the probing of central issues such as the corruption allegations, and "the very existence of the commission could provide government with an excuse to claim that it is being transparent and accountable, when in reality the opposite could be the case".

"President Mbeki is required by the constitution and should be compelled by his conscience to take firm control to restore faith in both the system of justice and its administration and in government itself. The indecisiveness and moral equivocation at the heart of government should be addressed," Leon said.

Initially, Hefer was asked to probe whether or not Ngcuka was an apartheid spy. The allegations surfaced during a row with Zuma over the investigation into allegations that the deputy president had attempted to solicit a bribe of R500 000 from a French company involved in the arms deal. This was later expanded to include similar charges of spying for apartheid against Maduna .

Leon said in a letter to Mbeki that he felt it was essential that Zuma and Maduna be "afforded an expeditious and objective forum" in which they could clear their names.

Meanwhile, the DA said the abrupt cancellation of next week's parliamentary sitting was a result of the African National Congress's embarrassment over charges against its ministers.

"In a parliamentary democracy, sessions of Parliament are not cancelled unilaterally. Consultation with the opposition's chief whip is essential and should go without saying, " said the party's chief whip, Douglas Gibson.

He said no reason or apologies were given for the cancellation.

With acknowledgements to Wyndham Hartley, Sapa and the Business Day.