Pretoria - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has advised leaders of parties represented in the National Assembly that the process agreed among parties earlier in the week has been rendered unworkable.
This follows the censure motion tabled by the Democratic Alliance on Wednesday. The DA tabled a motion in the National Assembly calling for the censure of President Jacob Zuma.
The Deputy President, through his Parliamentary Counsellor Dr Gerhard Koornhof, on Thursday night sent a letter to Parliamentary leaders.
In his letter, the Deputy President said the agreements reached in his meeting with leaders of political parties in Tuynhuys on Tuesday, has been rendered unworkable.
Deputy President Ramaphosa met with all leaders of opposition parties at Tuynhuys on Tuesday morning to discuss challenges that the Parliament was faced with.
Following the meeting, he established a committee to tackle the challenges that Parliament has been faced with over the past few months.
However, yesterday he said DA’s decision to proceed with the censure motion is inconsistent with the understanding reached in that meeting. “The subject of the motion goes to the heart of the need for a political solution.”
“All parties represented at that meeting agreed to a process that would seek a political solution to the untenable situation in Parliament. They consequently agreed that various Parliamentary processes be held in abeyance pending the outcome of the multi-party engagement. The DA’s motion violates the spirit of this agreement.
“We are not going to be successful in restoring the dignity, integrity and standing of Parliament if parties cannot trust each other to honour their undertakings.
“We are concerned that the DA does not share our commitment to work towards the achievement of a climate in Parliament that enables members of the executive to appear before Parliament to account fully and properly…
“As the Executive, we remain committed to genuine and sincere partnerships to restore the integrity, stature and effectiveness of Parliament,” Deputy President Ramaphosa said.
He said the process simply cannot proceed under these conditions.
The Deputy President, who is the Leader of Government Business, remains committed to working with other parties to address the current situation in Parliament.
He believes the majority of parties in the National Assembly share this commitment and is hopeful that we can still find a way to work together to restore the dignity and integrity of this institution. – SAnews.gov.za
