Africa-Press – South-Africa. A full sitting of the Western Cape provincial legislature turned rowdy on Thursday when members heckled and interrupted proceedings, which forced the deputy Speaker, Beverley Schäfer, to suspend proceedings.
The house was suspended for a few minutes after political parties disrupted the interpellations when MEC for Community Safety Reagan Allen blamed the issue of crime solely on the national government.
Allen told members he would not apologise for stating facts.
“The 7.3% increase in crime categories is a direct result of the national government’s failure to adequately [provide] resources to the police service. This increase in crime is a direct result because SAPS is at a national level,” he said.
Blaming national government, Allen said: “Besides national government’s failure, our country is 20 years behind in the fight against crime, and that’s why people are dying. I would beg the ANC in the Western Cape to give the powers of police to a capable government,” he said.
In response, the ANC’s Mesuli Kama said the DA’s response to the 2022/23 first-quarter crime statistics was disingenuous and misleading.
He said:
The debate turned rowdy when the ANC’s provincial leader, Cameron Dugmore, reiterated that the party wanted the Speaker and deputy Speaker to recuse themselves from dealing with the item.
But Schäfer, who was presiding over the sitting, shut down Dugmore’s point of order.
“That has nothing to do with the interpellations,” she said.
Kama lambasted the DA-led provincial government for using crime as a political tool.
“The DA is more concerned about politicking about crime; when Nyanga crime decreased, they [the DA] said it was because of them, and we argued that it was because there was a stabilisation plan by police,” he said.
Kama was referring to the fourth quarter crime stats that were released, which showed that crime in the area declined by 30.2%, with 13 fewer cases.
The DA said this was because of its Law Enforcement Advancement Plan officers in the Nyanga area.
Other opposition parties also ripped into the DA over their handling of crime in the province, with the GOOD party’s Shaun August saying it was sad to see how the crime was being used for politics.
He said:
An angry Schäfer stood up to try and restore order, but was eventually forced to adjourn proceedings.
“We cannot proceed any further,” she said.
The ANC’s Andile Lili was forced to leave the chambers after raising concerns about the handling of proceedings under Schäfer.
Lili was escorted out and the house was suspended again.
Dugmore said Schäfer continually protected DA members, something the ANC raised sharply, and which led to her adjourning the house.
“This decision was against the Rules of the House and the ANC is utterly disappointed that no formal communication was given that the session would not resume. In this regard, the ANC will write a letter to the Speaker to request an urgent meeting to raise their concerns, including a formal complaint against the conduct of the Deputy Speaker,” he said.
The DA’s deputy chief whip, Deidré Baartman, said Schäfer initially suspended the house twice due to Lili’s behaviour.
“The DA condemns the blatant attempts by [member] Lili to descend the House into chaos. His actions were nothing short of an attack on the democratic processes and work of the provincial parliament and a blatant attempt to destabilise the House, affecting the consideration of legislation on the Order Paper,” she said.
The DA’s provincial leader, Tertuis Simmers, accused ANC members of deliberately trying to disrupt the house.
“The most important functions of the provincial legislature are to ensure that due process are upheld, relevant legislation are created and that questions asked on behalf of the people of the Western Cape are answered. It is, therefore, unacceptable that the business of the House is disrupted in the manner it was today,” he said.
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