Lerato Mbhiza
The National Assembly Acting Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli has agreed to allow an urgent debate on the DA’s proposed motion of no-confidence in Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula during the last sitting before the recess which starts on Thursday.
This would be the second time Mapisa-Nqakula faces a no-confidence motion since her election as speaker in 2021.
On Tuesday, parliament confirmed that Tsenoli wrote to the DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube advising her of his decision to accept her proposed motion as “being substantively in order”.
“In line with the rules of the assembly, the acting speaker must give an approved motion under this rule due priority. Before scheduling it, he is also required to consult with the chief whip of the majority party as required by rule 28(5).
“A motion for the removal of the speaker from office must comply, to the satisfaction of the deputy speaker, with the prescripts of any relevant law or rules and orders of the house, including directives and guidelines approved by the rules committee.
“This motion must be placed on the order paper and must detail the grounds for the proposed removal,” Parliament said in a statement.
The date of the no-confidence motion will be announced once the consultation with ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina has taken place.
Parliament said its work is unaffected by the absence of Mapisa-Nqakula who has taken special leave as she challenges a planned arrest on corruption charges.
But the DA said the special leave announced by Mapisa-Nqakula last week is irregular and has not followed procedure.
The party wants a motion of no-confidence to be debated to remove her from office if she does not resign.
Parliamentary Spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said it is impossible to say how long the Speaker will be on leave.
But he contends her leave is in line with the house rules which require a formal motion to be tabled if more than 15 consecutive sitting days will be missed.
“Considering that the National Assembly only has three plenary sessions remaining before it adjourns at the end of March, the formal motion process will not be required in this instance.”
But Gwarube disagrees with this reasoning, and insists that Mapisa-Nqakula has not followed procedure.
Mapisa-Nqakula stands accused of receiving just over R2 million in bribes and a wig, from a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) contractor during her tenure as Defence Minister.
She allegedly received the bribes between December 2016 and July 2019.
Her application seeking to interdict the state from arresting her was heard at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Monday.
The ANC in Parliament has not responded to a question on whether Mapisa-Nqakula formally requested leave.
The DA said despite MPs going on constituency leave this week until the May elections, Parliament remains a competent body, and the Speaker is unable to fulfil her duties.
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