It should in the interest of the proper functioning of Parliament to find a member less compromised and less inept than Baleka Mbete, says George Devenish.
A motion of no-confidence in the Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete was proposed and motivated by the allegation by opposition parties that she failed to act as an impartial presiding officer.
Opposition parties argued that the “lines are blurred between the ANC and Parliament” because Mbete was simultaneously national chairwoman of the ANC and Speaker of the Assembly.
This, it was submitted, made it virtually impossible for her to discharge her duties impartially and without fear or favour. In law a famous adage declares that justice must not only be done, but must be manifestly seen to be done.
As a result of her lack of independence, Mbete is seen by members of opposition parties to have become a serious obstacle to constructive debate and executive oversight in Parliament.
This was manifestly clear from the inept and partial manner she handled President Jacob Zuma’s question time relating to the Nkandla debacle and disallowing a follow-up question by EFF leader Julius Malema.
In shielding Zuma from penetrating interrogation, she displayed her manifest bias and thereby obstructed executive oversight.
In the way Mbete has conducted herself in the role of Speaker, she displays an abysmal understanding of the requirements of an historic and distinguished office, which has its genesis in mother of Parliament at Westminster, which spans a history of more than a thousand years.
As we adopted a parliamentary system of government, its ethos and operation are relevant for the working of our system of parliamentary democracy.
In the history of the House of Commons, Thomas Hungerford is considered to be the inaugural holder of the office in 1377. The office has an ancient lineage characterised by both dignity and fearless independence.
It is in regard to the latter that Mbete has failed so manifestly, by her blatant partiality to the ANC, involving an inability to protect the institution from the spurious points of order that have shut down democratic discourse, cancelling meetings of oversight authority and making political appointments to her office from unelected ex-MPs costing millions of rand.
In response to this criticism, the ANC described Mbete as “an outstanding veteran of the struggle for our liberation” and one of the “midwives of our democracy”. This, although true, is besides the point in relation to her lack of independence and impartiality, which are essential for the role of Speaker.
The chief function of the Speaker is to preserve the privileges and dignity of Parliament. This must be done with manifest impartiality and courage.
The Speaker must be independent of the executive and must maintain the security of the parliamentary precincts without the involvement of the security cluster which are part of the executive, as envisaged in the “contingency plan”, as announced by the Minister of Defence Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, to deal with recent disruptions to parliamentary procedure in the house caused by the EFF.
This constitutes an abdication of the Speaker’s authority and independence in relation to the executive, which is anathema to the historical role of this office. Mbete would do well to consider Speaker Lenthall’s courageous response to King Charles I’s imperious demand for information concerning the whereabouts of an alleged conspirator at the inception of the English Civil War, after he had stormed into the House of Commons, accompanied by armed troops: “May it please your majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am”.
Although the ANC has the power to nominate and elect any one of its MPs as the Speaker, it should in the interest of the proper functioning of Parliament to find a member who is less compromised and less inept than Mbete. It would be preferable if a neutral person could be elected to this position, such as a respected retired judge. This would require a constitutional amendment and it is unlikely that the ANC would support such a change.
The ANC chief whip got in first to read the motion of confidence in the Speaker, taking the wind out of the sails of DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane’s motion of no-confidence.
Both motions went on to the order paper, where they joined a plethora of others awaiting debate. Such motions are in effect “placed below the line” meaning if not discussed before the end of the session, they expire. But even if the motion of no-confidence were debated it would be bound to fail because of the ANC’s majority.
It nevertheless facilitates in keeping alive the ethos and merit of genuine constitutional democracy and the need for a competent and fearlessly independent Speaker to promote executive oversight and accountability.
* George Devenish is an emeritus professor at UKZN.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Newspapers.
Pretoria News