/ 19 October 2014

DA asks Ramaphosa to intervene over Zuma answering to Parliament

The deputy president of the ANC and the country
The deputy president of the ANC and the country

The Democratic Alliance is calling on Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene and respond to reports that President Jacob Zuma will not answer oral questions in Parliament until Julius Malema and his EFF colleagues have been tamed. 

The DA wants Ramaphosa, whom as leader of government business in Parliament is responsible for the executive’s work in Parliament, to state on Zuma’s behalf why such a decision was taken.  

The party has asked for a meeting with Ramaphosa to discuss the matter. DA parliamentary leader, Mmusi Maimane said it was “nonsense” that the ANC doesn’t want Zuma to appear before Parliament. 

“Our view is that Ramaphosa must act, he is the leader of government business, he must act to ensure that the president comes to account and that the questions to the president are scheduled in this term, otherwise the whole thing is a joke,” he said. 

Maimane was also critical of Parliament and its failure to ensure that Zuma is held to account. “We wrote to the speaker saying when is the president going to appear here? They said to us no, it will be at the most convenient time for the president. 

“That is the whole point of the motion of no confidence in [national assembly speaker] Baleka Mbete. She has made it her job that the president can’t come and answer… It is incumbent on her to say, look, according to the rules the president must be here every quarter.” 

Embarrassment to South Africans
Maimane said it was embarrassment to South Africans that Zuma has only answered oral questions once this year. The Sunday Times reported on Sunday that the ANC has confirmed that Zuma will not take questions from opposition MPs until Malema and his EFF colleagues have been tamed. 

This goes against parliamentary rules, which state that the president must give oral answers in the House four times a year. But the presidency has rejected the Sunday Times report as incorrect and grossly misleading. 

Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj insisted that Zuma continued to meet his parliamentary obligations. “The president responds to oral questions four times a year in the National Assembly. During an election year, this time is naturally reduced given the time taken to prepare for elections and to establish a new government and other activities. 

“However, discussions are on-going with the National Assembly to sort out the dates for oral questions,” he said. The only time Zuma did so this year, the session ended in shambles with him leaving under heavy security after he failed to respond to a question from Malema on when he would be paying back the money spent on non-security measures at his private home in Nkandla. 

When Zuma failed to answer the question, EFF MPs chanted that he “pay back the money” disrupting the proceeding and forcing Mbete to suspend the proceedings of that day halfway through. The EFF MPs are facing a disciplinary inquiry as a result of that action. 

The Sunday Times quoted ANC national spokesperson, Zizi Kodwa saying: “The president can’t go to parliament when that parliament is a circus. Parliament therefore must sort itself out.” 

Zuma accounting to Parliament
Instead of Zuma accounting to Parliament, the ANC, which has admitted to being concerned about parliament’s conduct towards Zuma, has decided to hold more izimbizo, which the ANC claims bring him closer to the people, said the report. 

But opposition parties have slammed this development, saying imbizos are stage-managed ANC events where people are bused in and given food to listen to the president and where he never has to answer tough or topical questions from opponents elected by the people. 

According to Maharaj, Zuma will instead have more sessions for oral questions in parliament as he has decided in the last term to also answer oral questions in the National Council of Provinces. 

The draft parliamentary programme for the last term of the year, which was circulated last week does not have an allocation for a plenary session for questions to the president, but features Ramaphosa’s spot although a deputy president’s question time normally follows that of the president. 

Maimane said this was the latest of many attempts by the ANC to shield the Zuma from scrutiny. “Whether the ANC likes it or not, Jacob Zuma is the president of South Africa with all of the obligations that go with that. This includes appearing before Parliament to account for his performance in government,” he said.