Johannesburg - The leader of the African Transformation Movement (ATM), Vuyo Zungula, has slammed National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s refusal to ensure a secret ballot when Parliament votes on the adoption of the Section 194 report, which found suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane unfit to hold office.
Today, Parliament is expected to decide on the fate of the suspended public protector, who might find herself forfeiting her R10 million gratuity benefits should President Cyril Ramaphosa impeach her.
The sitting of the National Assembly today on the removal of Mkhwebane comes a few days after the Ethics Committee cleared Qubudile Dyantyi and ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina of allegations of bribery.
Last week, following letters from the ATM and the United Democratic Movement (UDM), Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula declined their requests for a secret ballot, saying a closed ballot would deprive citizens who have a significant public interest in the matter of identifying their representatives’ positions and holding them accountable.
However, this assertion has been slammed by the ATM leader, who told a broadcaster that the right to transparency needs to be balanced with parliamentary obligations.
“You need to balance that right with the obligations of Parliament to hold the executive and Chapter 9 institutions accountable. In this case, we are of the view as the ATM that the test that should have been applied is that, in light of the conditions, what voting mechanisms are going to yield accountability and best provide accountability in this vote tomorrow? Zungula said.
He said in the past, ANC MPs were threatened and forced to toe the party line.
“In the context of members being threatened that if they vote against the party line they are going to be dealt with, that is a threat enough for the Speaker to say that it means that MPs are not going to freely exercise their rights in terms of voting with their conscience,” he said.
This past week, ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile said ANC members knew how they were going to vote.
Mashatile was answering questions during an engagement organised by the Parliamentary Press Gallery Association (PGA) on Thursday.
“This is how we work in Parliament. The ANC is led by the Chief Whip, and there is a caucus that meets. We look at issues and decide how we are going to proceed. Where we are now, our caucus has not called for a secret ballot, which I don’t think is a problem. The issue around Mkhwebane in the ANC is a straight issue. We don’t spend sleepless nights worrying about it. So, we know how we are going to vote come voting day. So, we don’t need a secret ballot; we are very clear on how we vote on that matter,” Mashatile said.
In June, Mkhwebane and her husband, David Skosana, claimed late ANC MP Tina Joemat-Pettersson had said Dyantyi and Majodina wanted a bribe to make the case go away.
Both Dyantyi and Majodina refuted the allegations against them, with Dyantyi also refusing a request by Mkhwebane to recuse himself because of the allegations levelled against him.
Parliament requires 267 members to support the motion to be able to remove Mkhwebane, with the ANC, DA, ACDP and Freedom Front Plus all set to vote for her removal.
The Star