Johannesburg - The African National Congress (ANC) MPs who were absent in the National Assembly resulting in the failure to pass the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill (DORA) two days in a row, should be fired, the ANC Youth League said on Friday.
The bill could not be passed two days in a row due to the absence of some of the ANC MPs in the National Assembly. The MPs should be “sent to old age homes”, said the league.
“We call on the ANC to remove the people who sidestep their official political duties for things unknown to the movement. The ANCYL demands that they be sent to old age homes if they feel too old to perform legislative tasks,” the league said.
“We want to replace them with capable young people of the ANC who possess the energy and revolutionary discipline required to build an effective ANC Caucus and legislature.”
The bill, which provides a R5.41-billion adjustment to the budget, was tabled in Parliament two weeks ago by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan with the medium-term budget policy statement.
ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu announced on Thursday that the “ill-disciplined” MPs who were absent without permission would face disciplinary processes from the ruling party.
“The absence of these MPs, despite recorded confirmation that they will be present, is disgraceful and downright disrespectful to the people of the South Africa. The unanimous view of the [ANC] Caucus is that the harshest punishment must be taken against absentees,” Mthembu told reporters in Parliament on Thursday.
The stalemate in the National Assembly meant that the provision of services would be hindered, said the ANCYL.
“This means that the process of budget allocation to municipalities will be delayed. The institutional timelines of government structures, especially municipalities, relating to planning and delivery of services will therefore be pushed back…we take this is an attack on the democratic mandate of the movement to serve our people and amounting to a political mutiny.”
African News Agency