#NoConfidence: DA to meet with Speaker to push for a date for the debate

29 June 2017

It is has now been a week since I wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, calling for the DA-sponsored Motion of No Confidence in President Jacob Zuma to be scheduled at the earliest available opportunity.

This followed the 22 June Constitutional Court’s ruling on the matter of the secret ballot.

South Africans have, however, been treated to a deafening silence by Mbete save for a statement by Parliament noting that the Speaker “will … ensure the judgment is given effect”.

I have thus requested an urgent meeting with the Speaker to discuss the scheduling of the Motion of No Confidence. Parliament’s Third Term is scheduled to commence on 31 Julyand the Motion of No Confidence can and should take place on the very next day, 1 August 2017.

It appears that Mbete is prioritising the ANC policy conference, and her role as ANC Chairperson, instead of her Constitutional role as Speaker of the National Assembly, for which she is paid R2 716 798 per annum.

NA Rule 129 is clear that the Speaker alone has the responsibility to schedule the motion and in doing so she must accord it urgent priority. She cannot drag her feet on this any longer.

Mbete must now prioritise her role as Speaker and act in the interest of the country by scheduling the DA’s motion of no confidence without delay.

Issued by John Steenhuisen, Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance, 29 June 2017