DA wants Parliament rules tighter

THE Democratic Alliance (DA) planned to ask Parliament’s rules committee to introduce measures to compel ministers and the president to give substantive answers to questions in the National Assembly, the party’s parliamentary leader, Mmusi Maimane, said yesterday.

The DA would also request measures to prevent the undermining of chapter nine institutions.

President Jacob Zuma’s first question session in the new administration came to a standstill when Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MPs were not satisfied with his answers about upgrades at his private residence at Nkandla. The EFF demanded that he pay back public money spent on the residence.

Mr Maimane said opposition parties aimed to bring the president to Parliament more frequently and for substantive and timeous answers from ministers to MPs’ questions. “The DA is working on proposals for a stronger Parliament (and) that is why the (Nkandla) ad hoc committee is important.

“The public protector has done her report and yet the president is equating it with that of the SIU (Special Investigating Unit). That is why we need to ensure that the public protector’s report is prioritised by the committee, or else the committee will be allowed to be delayed and run out of time.”

The DA would initiate a debate to continue the vote of no confidence in National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete through a secret ballot. Opposition parties accuse Ms Mbete of partiality in the way she handles debates, which they ascribe to her also being a national office bearer in the African National Congress.

DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen said the opposition party would use the rules committee to ensure better rules in Parliament. Since 1997, the ANC has sought to limit the powers Parliament has to hold the president of the country accountable.