ANC chief whip supports call on rules
2013-01-02 14:04
Cape Town - The office of the ANC chief whip on Wednesday
voiced support for a call by Speaker Max Sisulu for political parties to
exhaust Parliament's internal dispute resolution processes before going to
court.
"It is our observation that this increasing new
tendency to run to courts is symptomatic of a general lack of knowledge or
misinterpretation of the rules of Parliament," Mathole Motshekga's office
said.
Sisulu last week urged parties to use the current review
of the parliamentary rules to voice their grievances, rather than go to court.
The Speaker recalled he had instituted a comprehensive
review of the rules to align them with the Constitution, and said the process
had "begun in earnest".
Opposition parties in November sought a court order
forcing Parliament to debate a no confidence motion in President Jacob Zuma
before the end of that month.
It was rejected by both the Western Cape High Court and
the Constitutional Court.
However, Judge Dennis Davis, in his ruling in the High
Court, found the parliamentary rules lacked the necessary mechanism to resolve
a deadlock as such that occurred over the scheduling of the debate.
But he held it was not for the court to dictate to
Parliament how to conduct its business, and also warned there was a danger of
drawing "the judiciary into every and all political disputes".
Motshekga's office said it agreed with Sisulu that
parties must use the rules review to air their grievances, and contribute to
fixing any gap that might exist in that framework.
It added that once the process was complete, Parliament
should consider running a compulsory workshop for MPs on its revised rules.
"We are hopeful that this will go a long way in
cushioning Parliament against unnecessary, hostile political battles, which
result in abuse of the courts."
- SAPA
