Cape Town - Speaker Thandi Modise has agreed to UDM leader Bantu Holomisa’s request that smaller parties be allowed to vote on the public protector’s removal.
During a meeting of the rules committee on Tuesday, Modise said she had decided to allow smaller parties to vote. However, the representation of parties in the ad hoc committee to remove Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane would be on a proportional basis.
The parties that have majority members in the National Assembly would keep their majority in the ad hoc committee.
Holomisa had written to Modise a few weeks ago, asking that smaller parties be allowed to vote in the removal proceedings against Mkhwebane.
Modise said she agreed to that in order to strengthen democracy in Parliament.
She said the process would give smaller parties a voice.
“What we do create here is to enable each party in this particular section of the Constitution to have a direct voice and a direct vote, so that we do not actually end up one day with litigation and things like that,” said Modise.
She said the matter before Parliament was important and, therefore, all parties should have a say in it.
Secretary to the National Assembly Masibulele Xaso said Modise had looked at several issues and considered advice before deciding.
He said the National Assembly rules made specific provision for the establishment of ad hoc committees and their composition.
Initially, the committee had voting members and non-voting members. But Holomisa had wanted all the parties represented in Parliament to have a vote in the matter.
“The Speaker made a determination in terms of rule 129 on the section 194 committee. The rules say the committee of the number of the assembly members that the Speaker may determine is subject to rule 154. Now, rule 154 deals with, among other things, the principle of proportionality. The Speaker made a determination that there would be 11 voting members and a number of other members to make up 26 non-voting members,” said Xaso.
“There was then a query regarding the determination by the Speaker from the UDM, in fact an objection by the UDM that they believe that, on a matter of this nature, all parties should participate fully and express their votes in the committee.”
He said that after Modise had received the correspondence, she asked all the parties for their input before making her decision.
Political Bureau