Former RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo did not show up at Parliament’s inquiry into money issues at the agency on Tuesday. Members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) said they would wait until 5pm for him to come. The inquiry is part of work to deal with long-running problems at the fund.
Scopa said Letsoalo was told to come to Parliament but did not follow the order. His no-show raised new doubts about his role in the process and added strain to an inquiry that is already under pressure.
The committee said it did not get the letter on social media said to be from Letsoalo’s lawyer. In the letter, the lawyer asked if the committee had the right to run the inquiry. Parliament said its IT system may have blocked the letter.
Concerns Over CommunicationLetsoalo sent an SMS to a Parliament legal advisor, telling them to stop “harassing” him and to stop making it seem like he had “gone into hiding.” The message added more tension to the clear break in talks between the two sides.
The committee said it could not find Letsoalo at the home address in his legal papers when they tried to give him the first summons. A second summons was then sent through Parliament’s online system so he could still be reached.
Scopa MPs said they would wait until 5pm to give him one last chance to meet the order. They said all people in the inquiry must work with the process.
Implications for the InquiryLetsoalo’s no-show slowed down the inquiry and raised new fears about how it may hurt the search for facts. MPs said they were not happy with the break in talks and the trouble with Parliament’s IT.
The committee was set to decide what to do next after 5pm, based on whether he came or not. The inquiry will go on, and Scopa said it still plans to finish its work despite the setback.
