Mapisa-Nqakula’s legal woes unlikely to affect her benefits as a former MP
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula appeared in the dock in Pretoria on corruption charges on Thursday after an immediate resignation from the House on Wednesday.
National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. Picture: GCIS
CAPE TOWN - Former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s legal woes are not expected to impact her benefits as having been one of the country’s longest-serving parliamentarians.
She appeared in the dock in Pretoria on corruption charges on Thursday after an immediate resignation from the House on Wednesday.
She's however not the first Speaker to have found herself on the wrong side of the law.
Her predecessor, Thandi Modise, faced animal cruelty charges in a private prosecution before she was acquitted for lack of evidence in 2021.
Mapisa-Nqakula is the first National Assembly Speaker to resign from the job, just two months shy of completing her sixth parliamentary term, after 30 years as an MP.
It means she probably won’t receive Parliament’s end-of-service gratuity paid to MPs who complete the five-year term.
Despite facing corruption charges, these are unlikely to impact financial benefits due to MPs when they resign or retire, such as access to pension and state-subsidised medical aid.
Mapisa-Nqakula resides in her private residence in Johannesburg and is therefore not dependent on state accommodation.
The head of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC), Lawson Naidoo, says like with former ministers, there’s likely to be a transition period before her VIP protection services are withdrawn.
Despite her exit from Parliament, the Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling for Parliament’s powers and privileges committee to complete its probe into Mapisa-Nqakula’s conduct regarding a 70% salary hike for the secretary to Parliament.