THE New National Party (NNP) on Saturday formally accepted more than 150 former Democratic Alliance (DA) members who had defected to the NNP over the past few months.
NNP leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said at the party’s meeting in Wentworth near Durban that his former DA alliance partners were stuck in the past with the negative mindset of the old South Africa.
?They are a party without principle — making loud and aggressive noises about the rule of law but then shielding former DP leaders like Belinda Walker from any possible discipline.
”Their approach shifts them and their supporters further and further away from any real influence or any hope to have a say in the political decisions which affect the lives of all South Africans,” he said..
Van Schalkwyk said it was unfortunate that some political parties were so obsessed with throwing mud and rejoicing in South Africa’s failures that they forgot to be proud South Africans.
Meanwhile, parliament is to devote this week to lengthy deliberations on a package of legislation to allow public representatives at all three governmental tiers to change party allegiance.
It will include public hearings before four parliamentary committees on Monday and Tuesday.
In terms of South Africa’s current constitution, public representatives are not allowed to cross the floor because MPs, MPLs and many municipal councillors have been elected mostly under a proportional representation (PR) system.
Under this dispensation, the electorate have voted at national and provincial levels for a party, rather than for an individual.
This is also the case at local government level, except for those councillors who were elected as individuals under the ward system.
PR candidates at all three levels are currently appointed from party lists. In terms of four draft bills — two of which are constitutional amendments — public representatives will be able to change party affiliation in two ”window periods” each year, except for the year prior to and after a scheduled general election.
Proceedings start on Monday morning before the National Assembly’s (NA) justice committee, as well as its provincial and local government committee, together with their two National Council of Provinces’ (NCOP) counterpart committees. – Sapa