Parliament - The Nkandla debacle is going to court, one way or the other. And if EFF leader Julius Malema has his way, it will go straight to the Constitutional Court.
“It’s very clear we will never get an answer. Let’s meet in court,” Malema said on Thursday, having the last word at the end of an often tense presidential question slot in the National Assembly.
Afterwards, Malema told Independent Media: “We realise we are talking to a man who is not prepared to listen. He has a total disregard… The president never gives any quality responses.”
His comments came after ugly scenes in the House were averted amid a heavy security presence just outside the chamber, with the opposition left with a swathe of questions they say were not responded to.
Zuma sidestepped Malema’s question on when he’d repay money for items like the cattle kraal identified by the public protector as non-security benefits. “The question is premature as matters have not yet been concluded… I will respond further (when) all processes are concluded,” said Zuma, in reference to the special parliamentary committee which is considering the police minister’s report absolving him from any repayments.
That committee’s deadline to submit its report is today. It started its final deliberations after the presidential question time.
A careful chess game unfolded over the past two days in committee discussions as opposition parties – all but the EFF, which didn’t participate – were crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s to ensure they could successfully take the matter to court.
On Thursday, Zuma reiterated his previous statements that the public protector gave no judgments, only recommendations, which were the subject of the parliamentary processes.
This came amid the opposition’s insistence that only a court could review the public protector’s findings.
Tension ran high when EFF MP after EFF MP rose on points of order over what they called the lack of Zuma’s response on when and how he would repay the money.
Speaker Baleka Mbete refused to acknowledge them, but instead struck to her script: “He (Zuma) did answer the question… You may not like the answer. It’s factual that there is an answer – you are not happy – but an answer nevertheless.”
ANC chief whip Stone Sizani welcomed how Thursday’s sitting unfolded. “It was frustrating, but it was a great improvement from where we came from,” Sizani said. “Beyond this point we will talk to each other. Perhaps at that point we make South Africans proud that reason has prevailed and we can listen to what everyone… in Parliament is doing for a better life.”
DA leader Mmusi Maimane said “the president read a novel”, adding that under the Zuma presidency, “the executive is over-reaching”.
Maimane was disappointed not only about the lack of a clear response on the public protector’s finding that the president needed to repay some of the Nkandla expenditure with guidance from the SAPS and the National Treasury.
His question on the government’s inability to fix South Africa’s unemployment was simply answered by Zuma with: “The Honourable Patel (Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel) will keep his job.”
When the IFP asked about Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi’s suspension of one of Glencore’s mining licences, Zuma said “I’m no sangoma” and that he could not comment as “the minister has not reported that to me. I’m just hearing the honourable member talking… I don’t have a detailed report.”
Asked earlier about Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko’s comments that some members of the judiciary were meeting people and then came to pre-arranged judgments, Zuma said: “Unfortunately I didn’t hear the minister. It’s the first time I hear about it…”
On when South Africa would sign up to the tripartite free trade agreement, aimed at establishing a common market across southern and eastern Africa, Zuma had a dig at the opposition.
“If you want to run government, just win in elections. These are government issues. These are not opposition issues…” said Zuma, adding that the government was still considering the matter.
Asked about the meeting with Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng later this month, Zuma said: “I don’t think I need to discuss the agenda.”
However, Thursday’s sitting also highlighted that all is not well in the opposition ranks, much to the delight of the ANC in Parliament.
On several occasions, opposition MPs made verbal barbs, with the EFF reminding the House how other opposition parties supported new rules to evict unruly MPs. The EFF has been at the blunt end of being forcibly evicted.
The opposition support came in a backlash against the EFF’s scuppering of the previous presidential question time with a renewed “Pay back the money” fracas, which had left them fuming.
But on Thursday Malema downplayed this: “We don’t have time. We came here on our own. We are on our own,” he told Independent Media.
Political Bureau