Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete will consider a proposal by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) for “three retired judges” to compile a report regarding possible disciplinary action President Jacob Zuma for “violating the Constitution”.
“The EFF chief whip and deputy president‚ Floyd Shivambu‚ had written to the speaker demanding a disciplinary action against Zuma following the Constitutional Court judgement‚” said spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
“In response‚ the speaker…has responded that the matter will be given due consideration‚ including at the multiparty meeting she has requested today (Wednesday).”
The EFF announcement came hours after Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane called for a “multi-party parliamentary committee to investigate whether Zuma misled” the house about Nkandla.
Ndlozi told Tiso Black Star Group Digital that it had made the request for retired judge to probe the president’s conduct rather than a parliamentary committee because the partisan nature of committees would not yield results.
“Based on the judges’ report‚ Parliament can make a rational decision on removing the president‚” Ndlozi explained.
Maimane’s request for a probe earlier on Tuesday noted that “lying to the National Assembly is a very serious breach of the Rules of Parliament”.
“While the president is not a member of Parliament per se‚ he is most certainly bound by the rules of the National Assembly when he appears in the house‚” the opposition leader said on Wednesday.
Maimane said Zuma had‚ “in a number of oral question sessions…between 2012 and 2015‚…refused to acknowledge that anything wrong had been done at Nkandla‚ suggesting that he had paid for the upgrades with a private mortgage‚ and that all of the upgrades were planned privately by his family”.
His request to the speaker for a probe contained a “number of excerpts from the (parliamentary record) Hansard…for consideration”.
These excerpts‚ he claimed‚ made it “clear…that there is at least a strong prima facie case that the president deliberately misled the National Assembly‚ to avoid scrutiny on the Nkandla matter”.
“President Zuma has been running from the Nkandla saga for the better part of five years‚ dodging accountability‚ and refusing the take responsibility for the fact the he unduly benefitted from public money to the tune of R250-million‚” Maimane said.
Speaker to consider EFF request for retired judges to probe Zuma’s conduct
“The EFF chief whip and deputy president‚ Floyd Shivambu‚ had written to the speaker demanding a disciplinary action against Zuma following the Constitutional Court judgement‚” said spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
“In response‚ the speaker…has responded that the matter will be given due consideration‚ including at the multiparty meeting she has requested today (Wednesday).”
The EFF announcement came hours after Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane called for a “multi-party parliamentary committee to investigate whether Zuma misled” the house about Nkandla.
Ndlozi told Tiso Black Star Group Digital that it had made the request for retired judge to probe the president’s conduct rather than a parliamentary committee because the partisan nature of committees would not yield results.
“Based on the judges’ report‚ Parliament can make a rational decision on removing the president‚” Ndlozi explained.
Maimane’s request for a probe earlier on Tuesday noted that “lying to the National Assembly is a very serious breach of the Rules of Parliament”.
“While the president is not a member of Parliament per se‚ he is most certainly bound by the rules of the National Assembly when he appears in the house‚” the opposition leader said on Wednesday.
Maimane said Zuma had‚ “in a number of oral question sessions…between 2012 and 2015‚…refused to acknowledge that anything wrong had been done at Nkandla‚ suggesting that he had paid for the upgrades with a private mortgage‚ and that all of the upgrades were planned privately by his family”.
His request to the speaker for a probe contained a “number of excerpts from the (parliamentary record) Hansard…for consideration”.
These excerpts‚ he claimed‚ made it “clear…that there is at least a strong prima facie case that the president deliberately misled the National Assembly‚ to avoid scrutiny on the Nkandla matter”.
“President Zuma has been running from the Nkandla saga for the better part of five years‚ dodging accountability‚ and refusing the take responsibility for the fact the he unduly benefitted from public money to the tune of R250-million‚” Maimane said.
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