Parliament’s presiding officers say they have not been protecting President Jacob Zuma in the house this year‚ but protecting Parliament’s programme.
Speaking at a media conference held by the presiding officers to mark the end of the Parliamentary programme for the year‚ National Council of Provinces (NCOP) chair Thandi Modise said that perceptions that the presiding officers had acted to protect the President were wrong.
Parliament’s presiding officers and their rulings have routinely raised the ire of opposition parties who claim that they protected Zuma during sittings.
“We are there to protect the programme of Parliament. We will protect any speaker at the podium and the time that they have there‚” she said.
“This feeling that when you call the house to order‚ that you are protecting someone is wrong‚” she said.
Deputy speaker Lechesa Tsenoli said there appeared to be a concerted effort‚ particularly when it came to Speaker Baleka Mbete‚ to discredit her.
But Mbete said that she knew not to take anything personally.
“I don’t feel like the DA owes me some love or something‚” she joked.
The three also weighed in on complaints from opposition parties that members of the executive were not properly answering questions in the house‚ and were not attending on a regular basis.
Tsenoli said “it can’t be the job of the presiding officers to determine the quality of the responses. It is their (ministers’) political job to respond well. If they don’t‚ then they must suffer the political consequences of that“.
Modise said that it was up to the party whippery to ensure that there was a quorum and discipline. But she said‚ in the NCOP‚ they were “very strongly” speaking out against “ministers who don’t turn up in the NCOP“.
Mbete meanwhile said that she had continuously raised concerns about the quality of responses with the leader of government business‚ Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Answering questions in Parliament on Wednesday‚ Ramaphosa said that since concerns had been raised‚ he had noticed “a significant improvement in the responses to both written and oral questions“.
He said the executive were aware of Parliament’s oversight role and knew they needed to put processes in place in their departments to ensure that they “respond timeously“.
Ramaphosa said 2016 statistics for oral replies revealed that in 77% of cases‚ the minister concerned was present to respond. In 22% of cases‚ a deputy minister or an acting minister was present and in only 3% of oral questions‚ had neither a minister nor a deputy minister been present.
He said while the number of written question had almost doubled since 2009‚ the overall rate of reply remained high.
TMG Digital/Parliamentary Team
Parliament's presiding officers: 'We were not protecting Jacob Zuma'
Parliament’s presiding officers say they have not been protecting President Jacob Zuma in the house this year‚ but protecting Parliament’s programme.
Speaking at a media conference held by the presiding officers to mark the end of the Parliamentary programme for the year‚ National Council of Provinces (NCOP) chair Thandi Modise said that perceptions that the presiding officers had acted to protect the President were wrong.
Parliament’s presiding officers and their rulings have routinely raised the ire of opposition parties who claim that they protected Zuma during sittings.
“We are there to protect the programme of Parliament. We will protect any speaker at the podium and the time that they have there‚” she said.
“This feeling that when you call the house to order‚ that you are protecting someone is wrong‚” she said.
Deputy speaker Lechesa Tsenoli said there appeared to be a concerted effort‚ particularly when it came to Speaker Baleka Mbete‚ to discredit her.
But Mbete said that she knew not to take anything personally.
“I don’t feel like the DA owes me some love or something‚” she joked.
The three also weighed in on complaints from opposition parties that members of the executive were not properly answering questions in the house‚ and were not attending on a regular basis.
Tsenoli said “it can’t be the job of the presiding officers to determine the quality of the responses. It is their (ministers’) political job to respond well. If they don’t‚ then they must suffer the political consequences of that“.
Modise said that it was up to the party whippery to ensure that there was a quorum and discipline. But she said‚ in the NCOP‚ they were “very strongly” speaking out against “ministers who don’t turn up in the NCOP“.
Mbete meanwhile said that she had continuously raised concerns about the quality of responses with the leader of government business‚ Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Answering questions in Parliament on Wednesday‚ Ramaphosa said that since concerns had been raised‚ he had noticed “a significant improvement in the responses to both written and oral questions“.
He said the executive were aware of Parliament’s oversight role and knew they needed to put processes in place in their departments to ensure that they “respond timeously“.
Ramaphosa said 2016 statistics for oral replies revealed that in 77% of cases‚ the minister concerned was present to respond. In 22% of cases‚ a deputy minister or an acting minister was present and in only 3% of oral questions‚ had neither a minister nor a deputy minister been present.
He said while the number of written question had almost doubled since 2009‚ the overall rate of reply remained high.
TMG Digital/Parliamentary Team
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