DA considering legal action after Parliament fails to schedule Motion of No Confidence in Zuma

The DA is considering legal action following Parliament’s failure to schedule our motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma.

It has now been 18 days since DA leader, Mmusi Maimane, wrote to the Speaker, Baleka Mbete, stating the DA’s intention to table a motion of no confidence in the President, in terms of Section 102 of the Constitution and Rule 129 of the National Assembly.

NA Rule 129 is clear about the urgency with which a motion of no confidence in president should be scheduled. Section 2 states:

“The Speaker must accord such motion of no confidence due priority and before scheduling it must consult with the Leader of Government Business and the Chief Whip.”

The inexplicable delay which has dogged this motion has been raised in numerous fora, to no avail.

Indeed, Mbete raised the matter right at the start of the National Assembly Programming Committee (NAPC) on Thursday, 3 November, by assuring all those assembled that the request would receive prompt consideration. In reply, my deputy, Mike Waters, proposed the 10 November sitting as an ideal opportunity for the debate, which prompted little opposition.

Despite this agreement, next week’s programme circulated on Friday evening has omitted the motion of no confidence, thereby delaying it at least by another week.

It was made clear in NAPC that Mbete only had to consult with the Leader of Government Business and the Chief Whip for the motion to be scheduled and that it did not need to be referred back to either the Chief Whips Forum or NAPC.

To my mind, there is no reason why the motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma cannot proceed at the earliest possible convenience.

The Speaker’s failure to schedule our motion of no confidence is only the latest effort by her office to shield the president from accountability. We would have hoped that the embarrassing defeats suffered by the Executive and Parliament more particularly in our courts of law would have shown the Speaker the futility of her delaying tactics.

Sadly, Mbete doesn’t learn. We believe this latest ploy will only embolden those high-ranking ANC parliamentarians that have chosen to break rank in recent times to now support our motion, and put a stop to the kleptocratic, indefensible Zuma presidency.

Statement issued by John Steenhuisen, Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance, 6 November 2016