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National Assembly Speaker, Thoko Didiza addresses honourable members.
National Assembly Speaker, Thoko Didiza, has strongly denied allegations that she met with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s legal team amid Parliament’s preparations to establish an impeachment committee following the Constitutional Court’s Phala Phala judgment.
The issue surfaced during a meeting of the Subcommittee on the Review of Assembly Rules, where Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary leader, George Michalakis, suggested that if such meetings had taken place, the Speaker may need to recuse herself to protect the integrity of the process.
“There were quite some widespread reports that the Speaker has met with the legal advisors of the President. In my opinion, if that is true, it would taint the whole process and she might have to be, or might have to recuse herself to protect the integrity of the process,” says Michalakis.
But Didiza has rejected the allegation, saying she has never met with the President’s lawyers and that the reports relate to her attendance at African National Congress (ANC) meetings at Luthuli House.
“I haven’t met the President’s lawyers, and I’m sure you can ask the lawyers of the President if they met with me. What Michalakis wrote to me about, as the leader of the party, following the statement of SABC News that I was seen on Monday at Luthuli House, I just want to advise everybody that Mondays in Parliament are political party days. So, we do our party work, and all of us have got party offices.”
The Speaker also sought to reassure the public that President Ramaphosa is not seeking any special treatment as Parliament implements the Constitutional Court ruling.
“No. The President is not seeking anything. As I said, he was informing me formally, as he said on the 11th to the nation, that he has listened to the judgment, respects the rule of law and will exercise his right, as indicated in the judgment, which he has chosen to do.”
Didiza says Parliament has already begun implementing the judgment by reviving the Section 89 Independent Panel report, initiating amendments to the rules and requesting political parties to nominate members to serve on the impeachment committee.
“Well, you recall that immediately when the judgment was issued, Parliament reflected on the judgment, took legal advice from its own legal services and the senior counsel who was representing Parliament and agreed on the implementation of the Concourt judgment.”
According to the Speaker, Parliament is now carrying out the Constitutional Court’s directive that the matter be referred to an impeachment committee for further consideration.
“The Constitutional Court indicated that, in a manner consistent with parliamentary rules, Parliament should not have sent that panel report directly to the House, but rather to the impeachment committee, and therefore ordered that Parliament must undertake that process, which we are doing.”
Political parties had until the close of business on Friday to submit nominees for the 31 member impeachment committee. The Subcommittee on the Review of Assembly Rules is expected to meet again next Friday to consider draft amendments to Parliament’s impeachment rules following the Constitutional Court judgment.
VIDEO | Subcommittee on Review of the Assembly Rules meets over the Phala Phala matter:
