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Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula

JOHANNESBURG. — Extraordinary measures have been put in place to prevent a repeat of the “chaos” that broke out in Parliament last week, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said yesterday.
“These are extraordinary measures in the event of a repetition . . . We can’t have that, not in the legislature,” she told reporters at Parliament at a briefing by the justice, crime prevention, and security cluster.

She condemned the action of EFF MPs who disrupted proceedings in the National Assembly last Thursday while President Jacob Zuma was answering questions.
Meanwhile, the Justice Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) group of Cabinet ministers has condemned the actions of the EFF in Parliament.

JCPS chairperson Defence Minister Mapisa-Nqakula said the cluster recognised the independence of Parliament but could not stand by as “democracy is undermined”.
Mapisa-Nqakula said a person may not improperly interfere with or impede the exercise or performance of Parliament.

The minister said she would like to remind the country that democracy comes with certain rights and responsibilities, and that citizens must exercise their rights within the confines of the law.

Last Thursday, EFF MPs disrupted proceedings in the National Assembly while President Zuma was answering questions.
Speaker Baleka Mbete instructed EFF leader Julius Malema and his fellow MPs to leave the house, Sapa reports.

Malema was not happy with how Zuma answered questions on when he was going to pay back part of the money spent on R246m security upgrades to his private Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela had recommended in her report on Nkandla titled “Secure in Comfort” that Zuma repay part of the money.
Meanwhile, the ANC is concerned by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s behaviour, secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said yesterday.

“As a Chapter Nine institution, she has a responsibility to protect the integrity of the office of the public protector in discharging her responsibilities,” Mantashe told reporters in Johannesburg.

“This means she should not undermine another arm of state that she deferred to, to further process a report that she compiled.”
He was speaking after the conclusion of the party’s national working committee (NWC) meeting on Monday.

Mantashe said Madonsela’s conduct prejudiced the work of Parliament and its committees.
Mantashe was reacting to a letter Madonsela reportedly wrote to President Jacob Zuma last week about spending of R246m on security upgrades at his Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal homestead. In her letter she cautioned him that he was second-guessing her recommendations that he should repay that part of the money spent on features unrelated to security, such as a swimming pool, cattle kraal, amphitheatre, and visitors’ centre.

In his reply to her report on Nkandla, Zuma indicated Police Minister Nathi Nhleko needed to determine if he should pay back any of the R246m.
Madonsela wrote in her letter: “I am concerned that the decision you have made regarding the police minister gives him power he does not have under law, which is to review my decision taken in pursuit of the powers of administrative scrutiny I am given . . . by the Constitution.”

Mantashe said Madonsela must give Parliament space to process her report.
“The NWC reaffirms the view that Parliament must be allowed to undertake its responsibility of processing all reports and conclude work referred to them,” he said. — Sapa.