Letter from Max Sisulu, MP, speaker of the national assembly, to Athol Trollip, MP, DA parliamentary leader of the opposition, August 16 2011:

16 August 2011

Mr A Trollip MP
Parliamentary Leader of the Opposition
Parliament of the Republic of South Africa

Dear Mr Trollip

REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION OF A MATTER OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

I acknowledge receipt of your letter of 15 August 2011, in which you request that a matter of public importance be added to the Order Paper.

In considering a request for a "snap debate" in terms of Rule 103, I am guided by established parliamentary practice, which entails that:

(a) the request must deal with a matter for which the Government can be held responsible:
(b) the matter must be definite and specific;
(c) the request must not deal with more that one matter;
(d) the request must not involve a subject which is sub judice;
(e) the request must not anticipate a matter which is already on the Order Paper i.e. the Rule of Anticipation applies; or
(f) the request will not be granted if the matter can be considered by some other means.

(These criteria are contained on page 124 of the National Assembly Guide to Procedure,
2004)

Your request is not specific and definite, nor does it deal with a matter for which the government can be held responsible. I am thus unable to accede to your request as it falls short of these criteria.

The Constitution and the Rules, including established parliamentary practice, make provision for various options that members may wish to utilise to raise matters of political concern. You may therefore wish to explore these other avenues to raise your concerns.

Yours faithfully

MV SISULU, MP

Speaker of the National Assembly

Issued by the Democratic Alliance, August 18 2011

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter