Tensions between Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, below, and Parliament increased yesterday when she failed to appear before the public accounts committee to answer questions about the department's financial woes.

Tensions between Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, below, and Parliament increased yesterday when she failed to appear before the public accounts committee to answer questions about the department's financial woes.

Scopa chairperson Themba Godi said he received notice from the ministry yesterday saying that Sisulu could not make it because she had to accompany President Jacob Zuma to Uganda tomorrow.

Godi said Parliament had flown three members of the auditor-general's office to Cape Town for the meeting.

The defence department was recently grilled by Scopa and the portfolio committee on defence over its latest qualified audit, the ninth in a row, and its failure to provide MPs with information on what went wrong and how they were fixing it.

Sisulu has also been criticised by the opposition for failing to respond to written questions in Parliament on time or in full. - Sapa