End the farce in Parliament
THE antics in Parliament by certain of its members have regularly reduced proceedings to a farce and have caused such degeneration that it’s fair to say hardly anyone takes them seriously anymore.
Yesterday President Jacob Zuma visited the National Assembly to answer questions from MPs.
In line with what has become the norm, the meeting descended into chaos.
But what is more telling about this sad state of affairs is that there was much relief that armed men were not called into the chamber this time to remove belligerent party members.
While the behaviour of some MPs was clearly intended to unsettle speaker Baleka Mbete, she did not cover herself in glory either. Her partisan anxiety to protect Mr Zuma even when he was being unnecessarily evasive left a bitter taste in the mouth.
Parliamentary question time is a mechanism intended to provide transparency and accountability to citizens who are meant to be represented by MPs and the executive. It makes a mockery of democracy when disingenuous answers are given to important questions, such as why the government allowed war crimes accused President Omar alBashir of Sudan to leave SA even though a High Court order compelled it to detain him.
Mr Zuma answered some questions meaningfully while he completely avoided others. This is unacceptable, but he will continue to do this because he knows the institution is no longer a mechanism for real accountability.
It is very sad that young South Africans who engage with parliamentary debate on social media appear to do so merely for the entertainment value rather than to learn real lessons about their democracy at work. If anything, at every sitting Parliament appears to be doing something that erodes its credibility, and with it the faith that the electorate has in the democratic process. Imploring those involved to recognise the error of their ways will not help.
Parliament is the way it is because there is much that is broken in South African politics. Until SA changes to a new electoral system that ensures more accountability, MPs will continue to behave without honour.