EFF & Speaker undermine Parliament

21 August 2104

Today is a sad day for the state of democracy in our country. 

During Parliament today, the Speaker failed by not insisting that the President answer the question which the EFF rightfully put to him in terms of the rules.

The Speaker acted with haste and unduly summoned the Sergeant at Arms to expel the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) from proceedings in the House and ultimately called in the heavily armed riot police. 

The Sergeant at Arms' inability to effectively address the antics within the House today is a cause for great concern. 

Members of the EFF failed, equally, by not respecting the proceedings of the House and removed Parliament's opportunity to hold the President to account. 

There must be consequences for both of these failures which the DA will pursue. 

Today in the House, the pure theatrics of members of the EFF trumped the substance of a critical function of Parliament. 

The true loss today was suffered by the people of South Africa who did not get answers from the President, to which they were rightfully entitled. 

The DA has driven for the establishment of the ad hoc committee on the Nkandla matter, and through the work of that committee, and not pointless theatrics in Parliament, we should get to the bottom of how the Nkandla scandal came to be. 

The DA will now urgently meet with the Speaker of the National Assembly so that she commits to a rescheduling of oral question time with the President to continue the vital work which was interrupted today. 

Statement issued by Mmusi Maimane MP, DA Parliamentary Leader, August 21 2014

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