Ntuli, briefed the media on impeachment committee and immigration

African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip, Mdumiseni Ntuli

The African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip, Mdumiseni Ntuli, says the ANC this week outsmarted some of the political parties represented in Parliament by nominating a candidate from another party to chair the Impeachment Committee.

He briefed the media in Parliament on various issues, including Parliament’s newly established Impeachment Committee and tensions between South Africans and foreign nationals.

This week, Parliament elected Rise Mzansi Chief Whip Makashule Gana as the chairperson of the Impeachment Committee.

But, not without some politics going on – where various parties – which included GNU partners – nominated a candidate other than the ANC to chair the committee.

“And so, the caucus that met earlier on, which was working to outmanoeuvre us, the ANC, was disorganised when we got into the house because they were labouring under a wrong impression that I am coming arrogantly to insist that the ANC must chair the committee. So, when we walked into the meeting and the ANC proposed Gana, they were disorganised. You could see the facial expression of some of them,” says Ntuli.

And what led the ANC to choose to go with another GNU partner?

“There’s no doubt that the ANC can have a chairperson who can discharge his or her responsibilities impartially and in line with our laws. But the perception might continue to haunt us that if the committee is chaired by an ANC person, should it be, will it be expected and be perceived or be seen to be impartial because the matter involves not just the head of state but the president of the African National Congress. So, that issue was carrying weight as I was listening to my colleagues raising, especially within the GNU,” Ntuli explains.

Ntuli says that while they condemn the attacks on undocumented foreign nationals, a regional approach is needed to address the economic situation of some of the neighbouring countries.

“We condemn any unlawful conduct towards foreign nationals irrespective of their status in our country. On the same vein, the ANC caucus strongly condemns the behaviour of some foreign nationals who display arrogance and contempt towards South Africa, its people and the law. And we don’t want to see what some of these consulates and sometimes ambassadors are saying. That wishes to condemn South Africans or South Africa, and even to want to act in a way that is intending to isolate us from the rest of the continent without taking responsibility for the state of their own development and economy,” says Ntuli.

Ntuli added that the party disagrees with the calls for Speaker Thoko Didiza to recuse herself from all matters relating to the Impeachment Committee, as requested by some parties in Parliament.