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'We must stop the rot'
07/09/2007 06:51 - (SA)
Pieter du Toit, Die Burger
Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance, led by parliamentary leader Sandra Botha, have walked out of the National Assembly (NA) to show how strongly they object to a decision by the Speaker, Baleka Mbete, to suspend a DA MP.
Mbete on Thursday suspended Mike Waters, DA MP and health spokesperson, from the NA and the precincts of parliament for five days.
It followed a clash on Wednesday between Waters and Mbete after a question to Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, had been ruled out of order.
Mbete asked him to leave the chamber.
Question by Waters had cast doubt
Mbete read a statement to the House on Thursday before proceedings began in which she described Waters' questioning of her decision as "far-reaching, disrespectful and grossly disorderly."
She repeated her decision that the question by Waters had cast doubt on Thsabalala-Msimang's integrity, ascribed certain actions to her and were thus inadmissable, and added that in terms of parliamentary regulations the Speaker could decide how to apply the rules.
Tshabalala-Msimang had indicated through her spokesperson on Tuesday that she would respond to any questions.
After Waters had left the chamber, Mbete would not allow DA chief whip Ian Davidson to address the issue, and repeatedly asked him to take his seat.
"I will not allow you to address me on this issue!" Mbete said.
Botha looked at Mbete, shook her head and indicated the exit to her colleagues, who rose spontaneously to follow her.
'Walked out to prove a point'
ANC MPs loudly heckled the walkout although most of the members of cabinet watched them expressionless.
A furious Botha said outside the NA that Parliament was being abused and the DA would not allow Luthuli House (the ANC's headquarters) to dictate events in Parliament.
"I'm upset about this. We walked out to prove a point, but I think Parliament's in trouble if we allow the ANC to hijack what's happening here.
"If we don't stop rot from setting into the parliamentary institution right now, it's going to become nothing but a rubber-stamp for the ruling party."
Botha repeated that the DA caucus was convinced that there was nothing wrong with Waters's question, and felt that Mbete's decision to rule it out of order was wrong.
"We want a debate on it (the allegations against Tshabalala-Msimang). Why can't we debate something that the ANC admits, and that's already been said outside Parliament?"
'Wasn't given the reason why
Before leaving the NA Davidson tabled a substantive motion in which the DA recommended that a committee be appointed to investigate if Tshabalala-Msimang is fit to hold a post in the cabinet.
He told Jan-Jan Joubert that he did not know beforehand that the Speaker had decided to suspend Waters.
"I was only told five minutes before the session began that I had to be present, but I wasn't given the reason why. "It would have been good manners for the Speaker to inform the chief whip in advance of such a drastic step."
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