Labour practice: Soldiers unfairly disciplined

3 Comments

1. 

   Graham Giles on August 31, 2014 at 8:58 am

   Perhaps the Speaker of Parliament should study the latest judgment of the SCA before taking any further action against the EFF members.

   Andisiwe Makinana’s article Mbete to EFF – Convince me why you should stay in Parly was first published on 26 August 2014 in the Mail & Guardian, two days before the SCA’ judgment was delivered.

   It is understood that the EFF have given the speaker until noon today to withdraw the letters failing which they will apply to the High Court for urgent interim relief. It will be interesting to see if the SCA’s judgment regarding the fairness of any ‘disciplinary’ procedures also applies to members of Parliament.

   “The National Assembly speaker says she is granting EFF members a chance to give reasons why they should remain in the House following recent protest.

   Members of the Economic Freedom Fighters(EFF) who took part in the disruption of the parliamentary questions and answers session on Thursday will now have to convince speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete not to suspend them from Parliament.

   Mbete told Parliament on Tuesday afternoon that its powers and privileges committee will investigate whether the conduct of the EFF MPs constituted contempt of Parliament in terms of Powers, Privileges, and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act.
   Mbete said while the committee investigates the matter, she – according to the rules – is affording the EFF members concerned an opportunity to give reasons in writing why they should not be suspended.

   Mbete said this was in terms of item 10 of the schedule to the rules of the National Assembly, which makes provision for the suspension of MPs where the allegations against them are of a very serious nature.

   Mbete said the powers and privileges committee was being requested to deal with the investigation as a matter of urgency with due regard to the rules of the National Assembly and the schedule to the rules and to submit a report and findings and recommendations in terms of rule 194 (2) (b) at the earliest opportunity.

   The committee’s function

   The committee will be chaired by ANC MP Lemias Mashile, who used to co-chair Parliament’s ethics committee with retired ANC MP Ben Turok. It will be made up of 11 members; six of them from the ANC, two from the Democratic Alliance, one from the EFF and two representing the smaller parties.

   The committee’s function is to consider any matter referred to it by the speaker relating to the contempt of Parliament or misconduct by a member. EFF MPs disrupted the proceedings of the National Assembly last Thursday to an extent that the house had to be adjourned in terms of its rules because it had become impossible to continue with its business on that day.
   The ANC has called for tough sanctions against the EFF. The ruling party said it was clear that the intentions of EFF were not to engage within the framework of promoting public accountability, but had an intention of undermining not only the purpose of parliament but to promote anarchy and general disrespect.

   “This conduct is consistent with people who are hell bent on undermining the rights of those who are duly elected members of Parliament, representing their constituencies in parliament,” said ANC spokesperson, Zizi Kodwa in a statement. The EFF has vowed to continue with similar protests saying it was well within its rights to protest and express its unhappiness.”

2. 

   Graham Giles on September 2, 2014 at 11:17 am

   Speaker forced to climb down

   As expected there is an article in Business Day today by Wyndham Hartley and Paul Vecchiatto Agreement sees EFF MPs escape suspension noting that the EFF members have not been suspended without pay for two weeks.

   LAWYERS for National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete and the Economic Freedom Front (EFF) agreed late on Monday that the party’s MPs would not be suspended on Tuesday for disrupting a parliamentary session nearly two weeks ago. Parliament’s powers and privileges committee chairman, Lemias Mashile, announced the development during a discussion on how the committee should proceed with the speaker’s complaint against the EFF MPs. “I have just received a communication that lawyers for the speaker and the EFF have agreed that the EFF MPs would not be suspended,” he told the committee.

3. 

   Graham Giles on September 3, 2014 at 9:32 am

   Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Committee

   Here are some extracts from Andisiwe Makinana’s report Mbete: Parliament’s integrity intact which was first published in the Mail & Guardian today.

   Last Tuesday, Mbete told the National Assembly that she was referring the conduct of the EFF MPs to the powers and privileges committee for it to investigate whether their conduct constituted contempt of Parliament in terms of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act.

   At the time, Mbete also told the House that while the matter was before the committee, she was also considering the implementation of item 10 of the schedule to the rules, which makes provision for the suspension of members where the allegations against them are of a very serious nature.

   She said on Tuesday that she had considered the submissions from the EFF MPs, and that she had decided that the processes underway in the powers and privileges committee would best serve the purpose of giving effect to the relevant provisions of the Constitution, the Powers and Privileges Act and the rules of the National Assembly.

   “At this stage, I will not invoke item 10 of the schedule to the rules,” she announced.

   EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu challenged Mbete’s statement, saying it wasn’t fair for her to make such conclusive remarks about the EFF when there was a parliamentary committee that would be investigating the matter. But Mbete would hear none of it, as she disallowed any debate on her statement.

   “We don’t agree with the observations that you have made here, most of them are wrong,” charged Shivambu, adding: “You are not God, you can’t say things and then say it’s final!”