DA challenges Baleka Mbete’s decision not to postpone Motion of No Confidence

12 April 2017

The press statement by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, indicating that the Motion of No Confidence in President Jacob Zuma can only be withdrawn by the MP that sponsors it, flat out ignores our request for the motion to be postponed.

Indeed, the DA never indicated that the Motion of No Confidence will be withdrawn but only requested that the Speaker postpone the motion due to the importance of the pending Constitutional Court application. The rules clearly allow for it to be postponed.

The DA will therefore not withdraw the Leader of the Opposition’s Motion of No Confidence in President Zuma.

This side-stepping of our important request is precisely the condemnable conduct that one would expect from the ANC’s pro-Zuma Chairperson, also masquerading as the Speaker of Parliament. Mbete is determined to do everything possible to protect Jacob Zuma, and disregard the will of the people.

Rule 129(5) of the National Assembly provides as follows:

“After proper consultation and once the Speaker is satisfied that the motion of no confidence complies with the aforementioned prescribed law, rules and orders of the House and directives or guidelines of the Rules Committee, the Speaker must ensure that the motion of no confidence is scheduled, debated and voted on within a reasonable period of time given the program of the Assembly.”

This rule clearly gives the Speaker the power to schedule the motion and, therefore, also the implied power to postpone and reschedule such a motion. This differs from the scheduling of other NA business which would require the National Assembly Programming Committee to either schedule or reschedule matters.

Business that has been scheduled, such as bills and reports, have been re-scheduled in the past.

We have therefore written to the Speaker to again urge her to postpone the existing motion, pending the outcome of the Constitutional Court matter, or any further directives provided by it.

The rules provide her with this authority and she must now exercise it so that the people of South Africa can be put first again.

Update:

Speaker agrees to postpone MONC

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has this evening received a letter from the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, acceding to our requests to postpone the Motion of No Confidence, which was scheduled to take place on 18 April 2017.

As the DA, we welcome the postponement, as the outcome of the Constitutional Court submission, where the matter of a secret ballot for a motion of no confidence will be tested, will have a material impact on the outcome of the vote.

The Speaker has stated that “the motion of no confidence is postponed pending consideration of the matter by the Programme Committee after the constituency period.”

The DA believes that it would have been remarkably disrespectful for the National Assembly to proceed with the debate and vote while the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the Republic, was deliberating on a matter directly linked to the motion.

The postponement will give ANC Members of Parliament time to reflect on their commitment to South Africa and the people. For as long as Jacob Zuma remains at the Union Buildings, the people, especially the poor and jobless, will continue suffer.

The postponement will not stop the people of South Africa from continuing to make the call that “Zuma must go and South Africa must come first”.

Issued by John Steenhuisen, Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance, 12 April 2017