SPEAKER CORRECT TO ORDER MAIMANE TO WITHDRAW HIS INSULTS AGAINST PRESIDENT

18 March 2015

The Office of the ANC Chief Whip believes that DA leader Mmusi Maimane did himself and his party a great favour by immediately withdrawing his un-parliamentary and insulting remarks alleging that the President is a "thief" during the sitting of the National Assembly yesterday.

Such disparaging remarks, which are not based on any legal or factual evidence, would not have stood the test of judicial scrutiny. Indeed Maimane himself realised this and immediately retracted. We applaud the Speaker for acting firmly in line with the rules and conventions of the House by instructing him to unconditionally withdraw his utterances before he could continue with his speech.

An allegation of this nature directed at a head of state, who is elected by the House, is a serious matter that cannot be made lightly or for cheap politicking by any Member of Parliament. In terms of parliament`s longstanding practices and procedures, an MP who wishes to bring allegations of improper conduct against the President or any person appointed by the House should do so through a substantive motion - providing evidence supporting the allegations. It is common knowledge that Maimane's utterances are baseless and were made opportunistically to grab few media headlines.  

The purpose of the Constitutional Court judgment, which Maimane bases his outrageous insults on, was to deal specifically with the DA's campaign SMS during the recent elections. It would be a mischievous and a gross misreading of the judgment for anyone to suggest that it illegalises or nullifies the rules of Parliament or the laws governing the institution.

Neither Parliament nor its rules were on trial in this particular case. Further, in terms of the doctrine of separation of powers, no arm of the state may unduly interfere in the internal business of another arm of the state. Indeed the Constitution enjoins Parliament to independently determine its own internal arrangements, proceedings and procedures for the management of its business.

It is regrettable that the leader of the opposition has, rather than countering our sound and superior arguments rebutting his frivolous motion, saw it fit to indulge in an orgy of insults, personal attacks and unproven defamatory allegations. Such conduct coming from a senior MP in the opposition benches lowers the standards of our parliamentary discourse and debases the integrity of the institution.

Statement issued by the Office of the ANC Chief Whip, March 18 2015

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