Johannesburg - The National Assembly could be in danger of degenerating into a circus unless it tightens its rules and reins in the deviants and hooligans.
So said ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe on Monday, reiterating calls by the governing party for Parliament to change its rules and deal harshly with MPs who constantly embarrass President Jacob Zuma and disrupt proceedings.
But political analyst Ibrahim Fakir said the ANC was “being silly” as its calls were guided by attempts to change the rules and narrow and sidetrack pertinent parliamentary debates.
“Protection from what? The ANC is trying to tie the rules to more effectively obfuscate and filibuster debate to confuse and sidetrack the issues,” Fakir said.
Mantashe suggested the ANC was facing a serious threat of constant attacks and humiliation from an unholy alliance between the EFF and DA in Parliament.
“The emergence of a right-wing coalition among political parties is one of convenience and is brought together only by their common animosity towards the ANC. Their intention is to derail the revolution, and therefore to be called a counter-revolutionary coalition,” he said.
“If you look at the coalition of the EFF and DA, it’s based on convenience because what brings them together is their animosity towards the ANC,” Mantashe added, speaking during a post-ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting in Luthuli House, Joburg.
“Parliament must do its work and not allow deviant behaviour. How can their questions be answered when we are all singing and shouting? Space must be given for questions to be answered.”
Mantashe then appeared to contradict himself when he denied that the ANC was trying to protect or shield Zuma from any embarrassment and humiliation in Parliament.
“We say Parliament must tighten its rules. If that is equal to shielding, I don’t know,” he said.
He had early said in a statement: “The ANC has a revolutionary duty to defend itself, the revolution and democracy. Similarly, Parliament has a duty to protect its dignity and integrity and thus be less tolerant of deviant behaviour.”
Mantashe was talking tough against what he said was the extent to which parliamentary processes had “descended into chaos and the unruly offensive” against the ANC.
“Hooliganism and insults are at unprecedented levels and are unfortunately being defined as a tool of engagement. The decorum and dignity of Parliament as an institution is being dragged through the mud under the cover of the right to be robust.”
He cited an example of EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu showing Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa the middle finger.
Mantashe added that the attempt by the opposition parties to pass a vote of no confidence in National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete was nothing but “a drive to amend the constitution by stealth”.
“When some political analysts do no see this hypocrisy, it tells of a story of the intellectual poisoning our country,” Mantashe said.
Fakir disagreed. He said while the EFF’s strategy in Parliament might be excessive, the ANC was equally liable for the chaos.
“The EFF’s is an overused strategy, and whether this is an appropriate tactic in every instance is questionable. There is a clash of two extremes and fundamentals: the one uses disruption while the uses the rules injudiciously to block certain debates,” Fakir said.
The Star