Final impeachment rules by end-March
All parties to receive draft proposals for discussion
A sub-committee of parliament’s rules committee is hoping to finalise parliamentary rules for the impeachment of President Jacob Zuma‚ including their adoption by the House of Assembly‚ by the end of March.
The sub-committee met yesterday to take forward the process begun several years ago to formulate impeachment process rules. It was prompted into action by a ruling of the Constitutional Court that it do this without delay.
The court handed down judgment last month in a case brought by the EFF‚ the United Democratic Movement and the Congress of the People.
The three opposition parties asked for an order declaring that the National Assembly had failed to put in place mechanisms and processes to hold the president accountable for failing to implement the remedial action ordered by former public protector Thuli Madonsela in relation to the misuse of state resources on the upgrade of his Nkandla residence.
The parties also sought an order compelling the National Assembly to convene a committee to investigate whether the president was guilty of any impeachable conduct under section 89 of the constitution.
Yesterday, the sub-committee‚ chaired by Richard Mdakane‚ decided at the end of its deliberations to distribute draft proposals to the different parties for consideration and to meet again later.
One of the main issues discussed was how to prevent the factual inquiry being subverted by majoritarianism‚ with even ANC MP Mnyamezeli Booi emphasising that mechanisms needed to be put in place for this. In the past‚ the ANC used its majority in the National Assembly and ad hoc committees to protect Zuma from attempts by opposition parties to unseat him.
EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi recommended that a panel of three to five judges be on permanent standby to conduct an impeachment inquiry when necessary‚ but the DA chief whip, John Steenhuisen, questioned whether parliament could delegate its responsibility to hold the executive to account elsewhere.