Pretoria - The Presidency has refuted claims that President Jacob Zuma has been avoiding Parliament.
According to the Presidency, the President has fulfilled his parliamentary responsibilities since his election as President in May 2014 to lead the fifth administration.
“We reiterate that the President is not a Member of Parliament,” says the Presidency in a statement.
The Presidency explained that the President goes to Parliament by invitation or when he has convened a joint sitting for example, the State of the Nation Address.
The President is required to answer questions once per quarter in the National Assembly.
“He was elected and inaugurated in May 2014. That is when we begin counting for the new term of office of the President,” the Presidency.
President Zuma presented himself to the National Assembly in August 2014 to answer questions, within two months of his assumption of office.
“This was the first quarter of the new administration and Parliament and the first quarter as per the rules of the National Assembly. This session was disrupted and the President unable to conclude answering questions,” the Presidency said.
The President has attended the following sittings of Parliament since his inauguration in May 2014;
- The State of the Nation Address (SONA) and the reply to the SONA, June 2014.
- The debate on the Budget Vote of the Presidency, July 2014.
- The presentation of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement by the Minister of Finance, October 2014.
- The delivery of the President’s annual address to the National Council of Provinces and the debate thereof in November 2014.
The Presidency is working on the President’s calendar for 2015 and as usual it will include parliamentary responsibilities at the required times, for example SONA, Budget Speech by the Minister of Finance, Budget Vote 1 of the Presidency and questions.
It should also be noted that the President continues to answer questions sent to him for written replies. The last batch was sent to the National Assembly yesterday on 24 November 2014 and more will still be sent until parliament rises.
“We wish to emphasise that there should be no expectation that the President will appear regularly in parliament, given the fact that he is not a Member of Parliament,” the Presidency said. – SAnews.gov.za
