Cape Town - The DA has rejected comments by ANC chief whip Stone Sizani, who proposed that “riot police” can and will be used to safeguard the National Assembly chamber.
“Our position on this issue has been consistently clear – police are never welcome in the parliamentary chamber,” said chief whip John Steenhuisen.
He said sending the police in to quell political dissent was a violation of the constitution and could never be justified.
“It is the parliamentary security services, not the police, that must be empowered to deal with any issues in the chamber, as they report to the Speaker and to Parliament as an institution. It was the incursion by the police and the violence that followed which caused the massive degeneration in the chamber the last time. We must never go down that road again. Police presence and physical violence have no place in Parliament,” said Steenhuisen.
He was referring to the November incident when SAPS members removed EFF MP Ngwanamakwetle Mashabela from the National Assembly after she refused to withdraw a statement that President Jacob Zuma is a thief.
“The very nature of Parliament as an institution is to facilitate robust debate and ensure executive accountability. Any attempt by the ruling party or the Speaker to suppress this by using riot police can never be tolerated,” said Steenhuisen.
ANC parliamentary spokesman Moloto Mothapo said Steenhuisen and the media should refrain from calling police in Parliament “riot police”.
“I don’t know why they bring up the name ‘riot police’. Calling them riot police is just a creation and to be alarmist on the issue. The law outlines the circumstance where police can be called, and the order of the house rests with the presiding officer,” said Mothapo.
He noted that the police members in Parliament were ordinary police.
“This is being used to exaggerate the type of police we have,” said Mothapo.
He said Sizani merely articulated the provisions of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act regarding the restoration of order in the House.
The rules of Parliament also came under the spotlight when MPs in the rules committee suggested that Parliament hire a private security company to remove unruly members from the National Assembly.
Parliament’s rules committee is finalising the proposed rules.
Other proposals include reducing the time for tabling motions to 20 minutes and allowing only party whips to raise points of order.
MPs could also be required to quote the specific rule they are raising on a point of order, and the Speaker could be given the right to switch off an MP’s microphone if the member is not recognised.
Political Bureau