Randy Desmond Pieterse (born 17 April 1956) is a South African politician and former trade unionist who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2009, serving the Western Cape constituency. He is a former provincial leader of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in the Western Cape. In 2006, he was convicted of stealing from Parliament in the Travelgate scandal.
According to IOL, Pieterse was viewed as an example of a junior ANC MP who had been "'sacrificed' at the expense of the 'bigger fish'" who had not been prosecuted for their involvement. Speaking to his colleagues in the Portfolio Committee on Communications after his conviction, Pieterse said that he did not hold any grudges, saying, "I am not angry at anybody. I am angry at myself. I should have been more careful. I had to pay R25 000 for my lesson. I hope others can get the lesson free just by observing what I have done." However, he said that he would challenge any decision by the party or Parliament to remove him from his seat, since "My intention was never to defraud Parliament". He was not removed from his seat, but he and other convicted MPs received a formal reprimand from the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, in March 2007.
|
|