/ 20 August 2003

Dead tired MPs aren’t falling asleep on purpose

Television footage of dozy MPs nodding off during lengthy debates in Parliament are a source of amusement for some, but one member, on Tuesday, saw justification in a quick forty winks.

The legislature’s joint rules committee has been grappling with an appeal by some members to stop TV cameras focusing on sleeping MPs. While the appeal did not seem to carry too much weight at Tuesday’s committee meeting, Jeanette Vilakazi of the Inkatha Freedom Party saw a bigger picture.

”Falling asleep is unintentional,” she said to laughter from other members, before adding that MPs worked hard and were under stress, and that in some instances, were left drowsy by medicine.

”Maybe something needs to be done … maybe they don’t come to a sitting, or they don’t stay long,” Vilakazi suggested.

The committee, Parliament’s decision-making body, is looking at proposals to deal with embarrassing images of MPs snoozing.

National Assembly Speaker Dr Frene Ginwala pointed out that should the committee attempt to stop television stations capturing the images, they would also have to censor the print media from reporting about them.

”Why discriminate against the electronic media,” she said. – Sapa