Andrew Trench
LATIN is creeping into the East Cape legislature, and if you’re a politician that could mean being called “calamari” or a “baboon”.
It all started with NP MP Billy Nel. Rising to speak in a debate on the fishing industry, he referred to his NP colleague Sakkie Louw as a “Loligo Vulgaris Politicus” — or “calamari politician”.
Louw had become a “calamari politician” after he gave the house a fishing tip. Louw had explained that pesky jackals on farms could be nabbed with calamari in a trap. Not to be outdone, Louw asked Deputy Speaker Anne Nash if he could call Nel a “Papio Ursinus Politicus” — the scientific name for a baboon.
It was a brave try before a bemused house by Louw, but Deputy Speaker Nash was firm. “Members must refer to other members as honourable members,” she decreed. — Ecna