Africa-Press – South-Africa. EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu threatened Parliament with the court after the National Assembly Rules Committee agreed to refer EFF MPs to the Powers and Privileges Committee over their removal from the House during the debate on the Presidency budget vote in June.
The rules committee met on Friday to discuss a subcommittee report on the turbulent plenary sittings of 9 and 10 June when the 17 EFF MPs were removed from the House for unruly conduct.
The report contained the following findings:
– The subcommittee unanimously agreed that the speaker had exercised immense restraint to ensure that all rules related to “raising points of order” and “maintenance of order in proceedings” were adhered to. There was consensus with the view of the speaker that “it is necessary to affirm the rules of the House, which are intended to ensure that orderly debate can occur and that all members, as elected representatives, can perform their duties. Should members wish to raise concerns of any kind they are empowered to do so in accordance with the rules, including the challenges against rulings”.
– Furthermore, it was noted that there was a publicly stated intention prior to the sittings of 9 and 10 June, on the part of the EFF, to the effect that a deliberate and sustained effort to disrupt proceedings would be undertaken. The invasion of the floor of the Chamber by a member of the EFF in front of the mace, was viewed as a serious transgression as was the physical interference with the serjeant-at-arms, while carrying out an instruction from the speaker to remove members from the Chamber, as well as throwing of water and attacks on staff by members.
– The members who were physically removed from the Chamber and the precincts were removed because of their disregard for the authority of the chair when they were called to order by the speaker for their grossly disorderly conduct.
– The time delays in the commencement of the debate on 9 June and the president’s reply on 10 June, due to the disruptions in proceedings, caused reputational damage to Parliament in the eyes of the public.
EFF MPs thrown out after disrupting Ramaphosa’s budget vote, calling him a money launderer
The subcommittee recommended that the matter be referred to the Powers and Privileges Committee to establish if there was a breach of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act. The committee agreed with the recommendation, with the exception of Shivambu.
“It is absolute rubbish. And it is also making patently false accusations that the EFF stated publicly that it is going to disrupt Parliament. That is false,” Shivambu complained.
“We are going to take it to court to expose whoever is involved in drafting this partisan factional nonsensical and rubbish report that seeks to criminalise the EFF that [it] is an organisation that is disrupting Parliament. Everything we do in Parliament is within the rules of the National Assembly.”
“This is absolute rubbish. We are going to subject it to a court process if we are unable to reverse it here internally.
“But this is absolute rubbish. It does not reflect what happened in Parliament. Even this thing that we planned to disrupt Parliament…nowhere in the EFF statements…[do] we say we are going to disrupt Parliament. There’s never been such [a statement].”
Earlier, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula asked Shivambu not to refer to the reports as “rubbish”.
Probe finds no evidence of GBV, sexual harassment during EFF MPs’ removal from Parliament
Shivambu also rejected a report compiled after an independent investigation by advocate Elizabeth Baloyi-Mere, which contained a finding that female EFF MPs weren’t sexually harassed when they were removed.
Among the recommendations in the report was one is that no female MP should be touched by a male Parliamentary Protection Service (PPS) official, and no male MP should be touched by a female PPS official.
The committee supported this.
Friday’s meeting follows Tuesday’s question session, where three EFF MPs were again removed for disrupting proceedings, causing a delay of more than an hour.
This matter is not yet before the rules committee.
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