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DA outraged by Manto move
05/09/2007 21:17 - (SA)
Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance's Mike Waters says the party is outraged by the Speaker's "last-minute decision" on Wednesday to rule out of order a written question to Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
Waters had asked whether Tshabalala-Msimang had been convicted of theft in 1976 while employed at a hospital in Botswana, and whether she had disclosed this information to President Thabo Mbeki when she was appointed to her portfolio.
"I have ruled the question by Mr Waters out of order because it transgresses the rules and practice of the National Assembly - particularly rule 63 - which forbids the use of offensive or unbecoming language," said Speaker Baleka Mbete.
"It is patently clear from the question that was submitted... that it reflected on the integrity of the Minister, as it implies impropriety on her part. Substantive motion
"Now, as you know it is an established principle of this House that allegations against another member can only be brought before the House by way of a substantive motion.
"Such a motion should be properly motivated and substantiated. "Members can not be allowed to reflect on the integrity of others in the form of questions, or other means, other than through the mechanisms that this House has imposed upon itself.
"So I have ruled the question out of order and I am not going to allow a debate on the matter," she said.
Her ruling provoked an uproar from DA benches, with both DA MPs Ian Davidson and Tertius Delport rising on points of order, but being ordered to take their seats by Mbete.
Waters himself then rose, and called on Mbete to tell him which words in his question were "unbecoming".
Mbete told him to take his seat, saying she was finished with the matter, but Waters repeated: "I would like you to direct me to those words!" 'This is a farce'
She then ordered him out of the House.
Waters asked if she was referring to Luthuli House (ANC headquarters in Johannesburg) and refused to leave, prompting Mbete to sternly repeat her order for him to do so seven or eight times.
"This is a farce, an absolute farce... you're covering up for a thief," Waters shouted, causing further uproar among MPs before storming out of the House.
In a statement issued later, Waters said Parliament was supposed to hold the Cabinet to account.
"But it is clear in this case that the Speaker is in fact shielding the Health Minister from being accountable for her actions.
"One has to ask whether the question was withdrawn on the orders of the Health Minister or the President, or whether the Speaker did it on her own initiative. 'Damp squib with no backbone'
"If the former, then it shows once again that Luthuli House controls Parliament, and Parliament is no more than a mouthpiece of the state.
"If the latter, then it shows that Parliament is a damp squib with no backbone to demand that our government conduct itself with integrity and honesty," he said.
Waters said the question he had posed was simply a request for facts.
It contained no insinuations about the Health Minister's conduct or character, and there was no justification for excluding it, he said.
Later an apparently unperturbed Tshabalala-Msimang answered questions on antiretroviral drugs and other Aids issues.
- SAPA
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