CAPE TOWN — The Democratic Alliance (DA) has escalated its legal battle against the appointment of Xolile George as Secretary to Parliament, filing a formal application in the Western Cape High Court. The opposition party is seeking a judicial declaration that George’s recruitment was unlawful and invalid, primarily challenging a controversial 70% salary surge that elevated his annual compensation to R4.4 million shortly after he assumed the role.
Court documents filed by DA Parliamentary Leader George Michalakis allege that the executive authority orchestrated a procured selection process. The DA argues that lawmakers were deliberately misled into endorsing the appointment under the guise of a lower, approved salary bracket, while more qualified applicants were systematically sidelined.
DA Member of Parliament Rikus Badenhorst detailed the convoluted recruitment history surrounding the position. The Secretary to Parliament role was originally advertised in early 2020 before being stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic. After the process resumed in October 2020, a March 2021 interview panel ranked George as the top candidate. However, when the executive authority proposed a remuneration package of roughly R3.2 million in March 2022, human resources flagged it as unauthorized expenditure exceeding approved limits. The panel subsequently advised that Parliament could not afford the candidate and recommended a complete restart of the hiring process.
When the process officially restarted later in March 2022, the role was readvertised with a strict salary band of R2.4 million to R2.6 million. This legitimate public call attracted 81 applicants, yielding a shortlist of nine candidates. Notably, George did not submit an application during this specific recruitment cycle.
According to Badenhorst, the procedural breach occurred in April 2022. Human resources presented the nine-candidate shortlist to the executive authority—then comprising former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and former National Council of Provinces Chairperson Amos Masondo. HR reportedly advised that George was now willing to accept the R2.6 million package and recommended scrapping the readvertised process entirely. Consequently, the public recruitment was abruptly halted after closing, and George was appointed a month later. Political parties were subsequently led to believe during the endorsement vote that his remuneration would be permanently capped at the R2.6 million mark.
The DA’s formal resistance began in November 2023, when the party’s then-chief whip petitioned the deputy speaker to refer the matter to the Powers and Privileges Committee. By March 2024, the committee’s initiator determined there was a *prima facie* case warranting a formal investigation, validating the DA’s long-standing claims that the former speaker had deceived the assembly.
On April 18, 2024, the DA tabled a motion to form an ad hoc joint committee to scrutinize the salary details, though this motion lapsed following the 2024 general elections. Undeterred, the party leveraged newly acquired documentary evidence to aggressively pursue the issue during the joint committee on financial management of Parliament’s deliberations in May and June 2025.
The dispute has intensified this year. Badenhorst confirmed that the DA has lodged formal complaints with both the Public Protector and the President, urging a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into the appointment. Furthermore, the DA recently reported the joint committee’s chairpersons to the Powers and Privileges Committee for obstructing access to critical documents. During a March 4 meeting, a file purportedly proving the appointment’s legitimacy was presented. The DA’s request to retain the file was denied, with officials citing the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). Although an agreement was reached to redact sensitive information and immediately return the file to committee members, the documents have yet to be handed over.
“We have been consistently opposed to this irregular appointment,” Badenhorst stated, expressing frustration over the lack of transparency. “They are leaving MPs in the lurch here, and it is their duty not to stand in our way to follow up on these processes.”
The DA’s High Court application outlines specific remedies. The party is requesting a declaration of invalidity to be temporarily suspended, granting Parliament a defined window to lawfully appoint a new Secretary. During this interim, the DA insists George’s remuneration must revert to the originally advertised R2.6 million rate. Should the court decline to nullify the appointment entirely, the DA will pursue an alternative review to legally cap his salary at the R2.6 million benchmark.
Emphasizing the financial anomaly, Badenhorst highlighted the unprecedented nature of the remuneration adjustment. “He received a 70% increase within a couple of months of being appointed, and that is irregular,” he noted. “It does not happen anywhere else. Why should it happen in Parliament?”
