DA KICKED OUT OF HOUSE
Premier promises books will never be late again
MEMBERS of the DA in the Limpopo legislature and their supporters were removed from the Jack Botes Hall in Polokwane on Friday ahead of the state of the province address by premier Stanley Mathabatha.
The members had tried to disrupt proceedings by waving placards in protest against the province’s poor matric results.
Some of the placards read: “Justice for Michael Komape” in reference to the six-year-old boy who died after falling into a pit toilet at Mahlodumela Primary School at Tshebeng village west of Polokwane in January 2014.
Speaker of the legislature, Polly Boshielo, first requested the DA members to sit down but they continued standing.
“I have no choice but to request you to leave the house,” she said as the group kept standing.
Boshielo then ordered the security personnel to remove them.
In a statement released after Mathabatha’s address, DA leader Jacques Smalle said there was nothing derogatory about the placards.
“We are now considering our next move which may include a legal challenge against the ruling to remove us from the house,” Smalle said.
Mathabatha started his address by acknowledging the delay in the delivery of textbooks had made a dent to the work done in restoring good corporate governance in the province. The premier said that the executive council had adopted a 10-point plan to ensure that the “unfortunate” incident never happened again.
“According to this plan, by the end of April 2017, all schools must have placed their orders with the department of education.
“By the end of May 2017 the department must have ordered books from publishers,” he said.
Mathabatha said the textbooks and the stationery must be delivered to the warehouses by the end of July.
“The distribution of these textbooks to schools by the service providers must be concluded by the end of October 2017, and pupils must receive all textbooks and stationery on the first day of schooling next year.”
He further gave principals a directive to notify the Department of Education of any shortages of books in time.