CAPE TOWN, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Parliament on Tuesday was briefed on naturalization granted to the controversial Indian Gupta family.
Mkuseli Apleni, Director General of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), appeared before Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, but former Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba (now Finance Minister) and the current Home Affairs Minister Buhle Mkhize did not show up as requested.
Apleni conceded that the DHA failed to inform Parliament of the decision to grant members of the Gupta family citizenship by naturalization.
But Apleni said this was on omission instead of an attempt to hide something. There was no malice in the negligence, he said.
Under the country's Citizenship Act, Home Affairs Minister must submit information to Parliament within a specific period whenever applicants are granted citizenship due to exceptional circumstances.
When he was Home Affairs Minister, Gigaba granted citizenship to members of the Gupta family without informing Parliament, waiving a provision that required applicants to be in the country for at least five years before applying.
The absence of Gigaba and Mkhize from Tuesday's meeting angered the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) which holds Gigaba accountable for the failure to table the matter in Parliament.
"South Africans are treated to near-daily media reports of how the Gupta family's relationship with members of the Executive resulted in preferential treatment. Now Parliament is again being frustrated in its efforts to interrogate this suspicious exercise of executive authority," the DA said in a statement.
Last week, Parliament requested that Gigaba and Mkhize appear before the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Tuesday to explain exactly how members of the Gupta family were naturalized.
Nevertheless, neither were in attendance without offering a reasonable explanation.
"As a consequence, the Committee gained no insight into why then-Minister Gigaba overruled the Department's decision to dismiss the Gupta's application for naturalization, for failing to meet the prescribed requirements," the DA said.
"It is for this reason that the DA believes that Gigaba must now be summoned to Parliament by way of a formal subpoena to ensure his attendance and accountability," the party said.
The wealthy Guptas, which allegedly keep close ties with President Jacob Zuma and a number of cabinet ministers, have been under fire for exerting undue influence on Zuma in the appointment of cabinet ministers and the awarding to lucrative contracts with state-owned companies, known as "state capture."
Both the Guptas and Zuma have denied the allegations.
