DA's march against ANC an electioneering gimmick

19 July 2016

The DA's march against the ANC in parliament today is a publicity stunt that has nothing to do with the serious issues pertaining to the SABC but a desperate gimmick  to boost its weak and diminishing election campaign. It's unheard of that a parliamentary party would march against another parliamentary party in protest at the very programme it designed and agreed to as part of the National Assembly Programming Committee.

The current programme is a product of unanimous agreement by all parties in Parliament, and it would be a gross violation of both the rules and the spirit of the multiparty agreement for the Chief Whip to alter it to suit the whims of one party. The Chief Whip of the Majority party is indeed responsible for signing parliamentary programmes, but he only does so following agreement by all parties. Ours is not an authoritarian parliamentary system where the governing party dictates the agenda and unilaterally impose it on other parties.

The Office of the ANC Chief Whip takes the issues relating to the SABC seriously, and we believe that Parliament must deal with them comprehensively when it resumes its business after the elections.

We strongly condemn the DA's attempt to trivialise and make a mockery of the situation at the SABC through silly gimmicks.

Issued by office of the ANC Chief Whip, 19 July 2016