ANC has no excuses left 

19 September 2014

Note to Editors: The following speech was delivered by the DA's Deputy Chief Whip, Mike Waters MP, during a National Assembly Debate on the Motion of Censure against President Jacob Zuma

Honourable Chair,

Each one of us swore an oath when we entered this House. We swore to respect and uphold the Constitution. We swore to perform our functions as members of the National Assembly.

If everyone here today were true to their oath, they would vote in favour of this motion. The facts of the matter are clear: Rule 111 (1)(a) of the National Assembly rules makes it clear that President Zuma must come to Parliament to answer questions at least once per term.But more importantly, the rules of Parliament are empowered by Section 45 of the Constitution. 

Taking the oath is not an excuse to simply get dressed up and stand here before the Chief Justice, it is a commitment - an obligation - to defend our Constitution when it is under threat. 

So when President Zuma refuses to come before Parliament to answer questions, he is assaulting our Constitution, when the Chairperson of the ANC in her deployed capacity as Speaker of the National Assembly refuses to ensure that the Constitution and rules of Parliament are upheld she too is complicit in undermining our Constitution. The very Constitution they both swore an oath to protect.

Honourable Members, this is the time for all of us to stand united, to stand up and be counted by protecting our Constitution. When you stood here on the floor of Parliament it crossed all our minds that when the time came we would do what is right and defend our Constitution. Well Members now is the time! 

Now is the time to put political differences to one side and say "Never!" Never again will one person be allowed to trample over our Constitution for his own enrichment.

If you do not vote in favour of the motion today, you are voting against the Constitution, you are voting against democratic order, and you are voting against the oath you took in this House, six months ago. 

The ANC's desperate plan to stay out of this debate is an embarrassment to the party and an indictment of our democracy. To the ANC MPs I simply say:  Shame on you! Shame on you for raising your hands, taking the oath and lying. The actions of President Zuma and his servants here in Parliament today are an insult to the oath of office we all took. You all raised hands and are now betraying your oath - simply to protect one man. Your deception as an ANC caucus, to shield number one from answering questions for his corruption acts, is despicable.

You have allowed one man to corrupt your party, to corrupt our country and now to corrupt our Parliament. 

The fact of the matter is that you are not participating in this debate, because you can no longer defend him. You have tried to protect the President by manipulating the Nkandla Ad Hoc committee.

You have tried to protect him by blocking questions to the President. You have deployed the Chairperson of your party to the Speaker's Chair to undermine the rules of this House to protect President Zuma. And you have sent riot police into this House to assault and intimidate opposition MPs. You have tried all of these things and failed. In fact, every time the ANC has tried to cover up the stink at Nkandla, it has just made it worse.

You simply cannot defend the indefensible any longer!

The ANC is not participating in this debate, because it knows that there is no defence for what the President is doing. The ANC is running and hiding from this debate, like a bunch of cowards because they know that there is simply no way to protect President Zuma any longer. The stench of corruption is thick in the air, and there is nothing you can do any longer to cover it up.

How can it be that a party with 62% of the vote is hounded out of the House? Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

So I ask the members of the ANC: What will you tell your grandchildren about this one day? How will you explain away that you broke your oaths and trampled on the Constitution? How is it possibly acceptable that the President does not answer questions in the National Assembly? 

Their only way out for the ANC is not to participate. They know there is no way to defend President Zuma's actions, but they are also too cowardly to do the right thing and vote to censure the President. 

Are its MPs really too spineless to stand up to their own President and defend our Constitution?

I would like to advise the ANC: If you have any sense left; fire this President and redeploy your Chairperson to where she belongs, in Luthuli House. 

I implore all members who believe the Constitution and the rules of Parliament are greater than one man to vote in favour of the motion of censure. 

Issued by Mike Waters MP, DA Deputy Chief Whip, November 19 2014

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