MP booted out for 'ag siestog'

2008-11-19 22:33

Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance will appeal a decision by National Council of Provinces chairperson Mninwa Mahlangu to eject DA chief whip Juanita Terblanche from the House on Wednesday.

Terblanche was told by Mahlangu to leave the NCOP after refusing to withdraw an exclamation she made - "ag siestog!" [oh shame!] - during debate on legislation to disband the Scorpions.

Mahlangu's decision was "not only petty in the extreme, but also ill-advised and showed a severe lack of judgement for one who is the leader of the House", Terblanche said afterwards.

"My exclamation was merely an expression of concern, brought on by the fact that the ANC had chosen as its speaker in the debate on the NPA and SAPS legislation which aims to see the Scorpions dissolved, Mr Buti Mkhaliphi, a member who, as one of the notorious 'Travelgate-accused', was at one time under investigation by the very crime-fighting unit he was now condemning.

" 'Ag, siestog!' is a perfectly acceptable expression of indignance, and is not in any way unparliamentary - as Mr Mahlangu argued it was.

"In fact, the chairperson's decision to throw me out of the House - without so much as consulting his table staff, who must advise him on all parliamentary rulings before they are passed - is indicative of the intolerance and defensiveness which increasingly characterises the activities of the NCOP," she said.

It was also an outrageous double-standard, she said, that she should have been thrown out of the House for such an innocuous remark, while Mkhaliphi was allowed to condemn - in an institution which should champion accountability - the very unit tasked with bringing him to justice, and to celebrate its disbandment.

"As a result of Mr Mahlangu's rash and unnecessarily heavy-handed behaviour in the House today, the Democratic Alliance was deprived of a vote on two very important pieces of legislation.

"We will be writing to the chairperson to once again explain fully the meaning and context of what I said, and to call upon him to retract this decision, which was clearly made without due consideration," Terblanche said.

- SAPA