The EFF confirms the mediation efforts and attempts by religious leaders

10 February 2015

The Economic Freedom Fighters confirms that the National Religious Leaders Council (NRLC) has been in engagement with the leadership of the Economic Freedom Fighters to find a lasting solution to the developments in Parliament. The EFF welcomed and partook in the mediation process led by the NRLC because we are convinced that in areas where the major political parties could not find each other on vital issues of national interest, we could always look up to religious leadership for guidance.

In our engagements with the NRLC, we made it cogently clear that our request is that the President of the Republic should come to Parliament to answer questions more than twice in the first term of parliament. We made this request because in the previous year (2014), Zuma only came for the question session only for half a day, which was interrupted by the Speaker of the National Assembly. We made it very clear to the religious leaders that the commitment of the EFF Members of Parliament to ask questions during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) remains intact.

The EFF will ask questions to Zuma during the SONA because Zuma has not been coming to Parliament and we do not believe that Zuma will come to be held accountable in Parliament. The EFF has it on good authority that in their mediation effort, the religious leaders reached an agreement with The Speaker of the National Assembly, the Deputy President of the Republic and tentatively the President on areas which the EFF made, should be agreed upon prior to the SONA.

The officials of the ANC later turned the agreement facilitated by the religious leaders, adopting an arrogant attitude which they adopted after the peace accord that was facilitated by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. When the ANC Officials undermined the Parliament, the EFF was the first and only one to alert South Africa that Gwede Mantashe recurrently undermines the Rules and spirit of parliament by insisting of narrow usage of majoritarian approach to Parliament politics. The ANC officials have once again opted for a tyranny of the majoritarian approach and arrogance with the religious leaders and undermined all what they had done to bring about common agreements and engagements in Parliament.

The EFF appreciates the work done by religious leaders, and proclaims for all to know that the genuine discussions and agreements we held with them were undermined by Gwede Mantashe controlled Officials of the ANC. We remain committed to engagements, but will not agree to be bullied by the ANC, which undermines Parliamentary Rules and procedures. We have an appointment with Jacob Zuma on Thursday, the 12th of February and we will never retreat!

Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, February 10 2015

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