Double standards DA abuse legislature
30 September 2014
The DA's illegal and bully tactics to summons and treat ANC leaders like criminals must stop immediately, says the ANC Western Cape.
The ANC says the DA has repeatedly engaged in actions aimed to embarrass ANC leaders abusing the legislature and its processes for cheap shots, party political cat fights and cheap point scoring. The ANC fears these actions by the DA will cause the collapse of the legislature, its independent processes and that it will not be above party interests anymore.
The ANC Western Cape legislature caucus chair Sharon Davids says: "The same pattern is repeating itself. The latest victim was Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba who was summonsed against the ANC's objections. In that last instance the minister is not accountable to a legislature as his portfolio is an exclusive national competency.
"The DA bends rules; do not adhere to the Rule of Law or the Constitution and stretches the limits to try and make itself relevant in an environment where it disregards the Constitutional principles of cooperative governance and only pays lip service to be part of a unitary state that is interdependent. It tries to run an island away from the rest of the country, make laws that separate it from the rest of the country and racist compete to be better than everyone else.
"But, at other levels of governance it expects the ANC to maintain the status quo and the Constitution. The double standard DA is also showed up it its recent resistance to the possible changing of a motion by the leader of the opposition Mmusi Maimane in the National Assembly and subsequently staged a walkout, but in the legislature on 14 August 2014 the DA (where it is in control) completely amended and substituted a motion of the ANC leader of the opposition Marius Fransman into a praise singing motion for the DA! Could the real DA please rise?"
The ANC says the DA is like a spoiled brat when it is affected, but it does not afford the same treatment to others. The ANC demands the DA to stop its bullying, double standards and hypocrisy. South Africa and the Western Cape can do much better with a more mature approach to governance and the legislature.
The first to be summonsed were the ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman and chief whip Pierre Uys. The ANC says it is high time the NCOP and NA committees start to summons the DA's premier, MEC and other office bearers to account to the national Parliament.
Davids added: "President Jacob Zuma and even Police minister Nathi Nleko are the DA's next targets. Otherwise the ruthless DA deploys its party hacks and cadres into government positions, like the now shadow mayor of Cape Town Tim Harris, buys votes with food, use aligned NPO's for political gains and abuse state jobs given to people with DA membership."
Statement issued by ANC Western Cape legislature caucus chair Sharon Davids, September 30 2014
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