DA's WITHDRAWAL OF NO CONFIDENCE MOTION

The Office of the ANC Chief Whip notes that, at the meeting of the National Assembly's Programming Committee this morning, the Democratic Alliance and other opposition political parties have done a u-turn on having their motion of no confidence in the President debated in Parliament.

The motion was proposed by the DA on behalf of seven other opposition parties in Parliament towards the end of 2012. The ANC had rejected debating the motion within the timeframes insisted on by the parties. The motion was brought before Parliament hastily and impulsively and there was no plausible justification for the institution to rearrange its programme at the eleventh hour to accommodate it. 

It was also the ANC's view, which it still holds today, that the motion is frivolous, not based on any fact or evidence, and was timed to impugn the character of President Jacob Zuma ahead of the ANC's elective conference in Mangaung. Our strong disapproval of the DA's motives, however, did not denote evasiveness on our part to have motions, including the constitutionally-provided for motion of no confidence in the President, debated in the House.

The ANC had debated countless motions in Parliament in the past, including motions of no confidence in the President and the Speaker, sponsored by opposition parties. We remain unshaken in our firm commitment to robust, open and free multiparty debates - which are a necessary feature of our participatory democracy.

It is for this reason that the ANC committed in November last year to impress upon the National Assembly that the motion by these parties be scheduled for debate in the week of 26 February 2013. We are aware that in terms of Rule 316 of the National Assembly, the motion lapsed on the last day of the sitting of the House last year.

Despite the expiry, we committed to strongly support that this motion be re-tabled before the House in its original form for debate. The rules allows for lapsed motions to be resuscitated. We have never shied away from debate, and we were ready to defeat this motion whenever it came before the house through superior arguments to expose all South Africans to its frivolity and mischief.

Today's sudden u-turn by the DA-led coalition of opposition parties lays bare the true motives behind this motion and thereby confirms our long-held view that the motion was groundless and unnecessary from the onset. It also confirms our view that there was nothing in the motivations for this motion that warranted an "urgent" debate by Parliament.

This position was affirmed by the Constitutional Court when it dismissed their application to have the motion debated before 7 December 2012. We are confident the Constitutional Court, where this matter is scheduled for hearing on 28 March, will agree with us that legally, no party enjoys unfettered right to impose motions and timeframes for debate in Parliament.

It is now clear to all South Africans that this particular motion served no other purpose other than to tarnish the image of President Zuma with a view to influencing the outcome of the ANC's elective conference last year. Indeed the leader of the opposition, Ms Lindiwe Mazibuko, made a dramatic call in the National Assembly on 30 May 2012 for President Zuma not to avail himself for re-election at the ANC national conference.

Now that the conference has come and gone, and President Zuma remains at the helm of the ANC, the DA and its parliamentary allies suddenly lose interest. It doesn't require a rocket scientist to figure out the true intentions behind that particular motion.

It is regrettable that these opposition parties saw fit to wantonly abuse hard-won constitutional rights to pursue what has today turned out to be a sheer political gimmick. The whole charade has been a complete waste of time and of financial resources for the judiciary and those who had to legally defend it - the ANC and Parliament. We are confident thatthe Constitutional Court will dismiss this vexatious case with cost on 28 March.

We commend the sub-committee on the review of rules for its ongoing work in reviewing parliamentary rules. This will also ensure that a deadlock-breaking mechanism is provided for in an event that parties disagree on programming matters. This was a key recommendation in the judgment of Judge Dennis Davis of the Western Cape High Court.

We reassert our greatest confidence in the leadership qualities of President Jacob Zuma, who will next week present his State of the Nation Address to the nation.

Statement issued by the Office of the ANC Chief Whip, February 7 2013

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