JUDGMENT ON PARLIAMENT/EFF MATTER

15 April 2015

The Office of the ANC Chief Whip notes the judgement of the Western Cape High Court relating to a case between Parliament and the EFF in which it had challenged a ruling of the Chaiperson of the NCOP  that related to Julius Malema's utterances blaming the Marikana killings on the government.

The ANC in Parliament will carefully study the judgment and issue a comprehensive response.

However, we believe that on the face of it, the judgment might have far reaching implications on the culture of parliamentary debates, in particular the rules governing the appropriateness of language used by MPs in parliament.

Such rules are aimed to preserve civil engagement and protect the decorum and integrity of the institution.

In this regard, name-calling and unsubstantiated claims, particularly of criminal nature, made against fellow MPs run counter to the kind a democratic institution that the rules are intended to preserve. Members of Parliament generally enjoy highly level of freedom of speech and parliamentary privileges, which are subject to agreed rules governing the business of the House. It is common knowledge that there is no substance to Malema's irresponsible political posturing that the ANC government is responsible for the unfortunate killing of miners in Marikana. A commission of enquiry has conducted its investigation on the Marikana matter and its outcome will be known.

We will therefore thoroughly study the judgment and issue a comprehensive response in due course.

Statement issued by the Office of the ANC Chief Whip, April 15 2015