The EFF rejects the speaker's statement on EFF MPs conduct as direct infringement on the investigation process
2 September 2014
The Economic Freedom Fighters views the Speaker's remarks at the opening of the plenary on Tuesday, 2 September 2014, as a cowardice and direct infringement on the investigation process taking place in the Powers and Privileges Committee. The Speaker, Baleka Mbete, went to town to give her account and the reading of events after openly acknowledging that the matter must be referred to this committee.
The Speaker's prejudices and conclusive accounts of what she thinks happened on the 21st of August 2014 will altogether compromise the objectivity of the Powers and Privileges Committee. Her conduct of issuing illegal instructions and threatening letters was exposed when she had to withdraw the threats of suspension she issued to members of the EFF. In her continued effort to threaten members of the EFF, the Speaker is repeatedly violating Section 7(d) of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, No 4 of 2004, which states under "Prohibited acts in respect of Parliament and members", that "a person may not assault or threaten, or deprive a member of any benefit, on account of the member's conduct in Parliament or a House or committee".
Despite this legislative prohibition, the Speaker continues to threaten members of the EFF in Parliament and declaring that the EFF is guilty, despite an ongoing processes which will determine whether the EFF was in contempt of Parliament or not. The EFF reads this as an attempt, on the part of the speaker, to recover the public humiliation she suffered from having to withdraw her illegal threats of suspension against EFF MPs. The speaker failed to see, from the beginning, that she could have never, not in the current democratic practice of South African parliament, suspended members of parliament on the spot as she now claims.
Baleka Mbete is failing to demonstrate independence and parliamentary autonomy from other arms of the state in her capacity as chair. She claims that she never called public order police, yet they were there ready to assault members of parliament. She further states that the security of parliament is under her direct charge, yet government security cluster arrogated this responsibility to themselves in a press conference.
Mbete must then tell us as to why is she not condemning the deployment of public order police, investigate who called them without her permission and explain why, on that day, she did not order them to vacate the parliamentary precinct. Mbete cannot explain all of this because she is actually responsible for the invitation of public order police to parliament.
Mbete cannot condemn the security cluster's arrogation of parliamentary security responsibility to themselves because she, through her role as ANC chair, empowered them to do so. If not, why in her patronising statement in parliament today, does she not distance herself and condemn such interference as violation of the doctrine of separation of powers.
The EFF shall never be moved by this cheap act, and reiterates that it is in parliament not to please the ANC and its chairperson. Mbete's role must be to make sure that the executive, President Zuma answer questions of parliamentarians. She must make sure that MPs are protected in this regard and not render their work toothless.
Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, September 2 2014
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