By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
A motion of no confidence in National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has failed in Parliament.
ANC MPs used their majority to brush off the motion as 234 voted against the motion and a mere 42 voted in favour of it. A total of 73 individuals abstained from the vote.
All ANC MPs voted against the motion while the DA abstained.
The EFF is challenging Mapisa-Nqakula’s conduct during the chaotic proceedings during SONA and demanded an apology from her when fights between security officers and EFF MPs broke out.
Red berets leader Julius Malema told the National Assembly it was clear it was dealing with an “unrepentant delinquent who abuses her power and violates the rule of the National Assembly and the Constitution”.
“To intimidate peaceful Members of Parliament is not something we take lightly. Whenever the president is being held to account, she chooses violence. She chooses to abuse her powers, violate the Constitution and the rules of the National Assembly,” he said.
ANC deputy chief whip Doris Dlakude said the populist behaviour of some MPs was destructive to the discourse in Parliament.
“We must be clear that we have anarchists and agents of destruction in our midst who have manipulated this sacred place.
“These are enemies of the Constitution who demonstrated that they do not respect the rules that governs this House. They have done this for self-interest, for populist reasons and misguided relevance,” she added.
EFF MPs prevented President Cyril Ramaphosa from speaking for more than 30 minutes and stormed onto the stage.
They were eventually ordered to leave. The EFF believes Mapisa-Nqakula was irresponsible and acted unconstitutionally.
It is challenging Mapisa-Nqakula’s conduct during the SONA and that of Ramaphosa’s protectors.
Malema also claimed Mapisa-Nqakula referred to his fellow MPs as “animals”.
The DA’s deputy chief whip, Annelie Lotriet, said the no-confidence motion was no trivial matter.
“Such a motion cannot be confined to a single incident. The question we have to ask in this motion, is whether this is sufficient ground,” she said, adding the DA would not support the motion.
The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) motion for the establishment of an ad-hoc committee to investigate the burglary at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in February 2020 also failed.
204 MPs voted against the motion, while 135 voted in favour of the establishment of the ad-hoc committee.
United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa said the ad-hoc committee should be established to investigate exactly what happened at the Phala Phala farm.
The situation was further complicated by involvement of police. It is in the interest of the president and ruling party to establish the ad-hoc committee. Unfortunately the president cannot run away from parliament. UDM supports the establishment of the committee.”
African Transformation Movement (ATM) leader Vuyo Zungula said parliament had a duty to hold executives to account, amid accusations that it has failed in its duty to protect the constitution.
GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said his party rejected the motion, saying nothing had changed since the same proposal was debated six months ago. Nothing has changed since the report by the Independent Panel was rejected by this house three months ago, Herron said.
“The matter may well return to Parliament for a new decision, should the Hawks, the Public Protector, the SA Reserve Bank or SARS conclude that the President should be charged with a crime or has acted illegally or in breach of the Executive Ethics Act,” he said.
The African National Congress (ANC) said it rejected the establishment of the ad-hoc committee because the DA’s proposal already had a “predetermined” conclusion that Ramaphosa was guilty.
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Video Courtesy of Parliament.