Cape Town - Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba’s parliamentary woes deepened on Thursday.
This was after National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete lodged a complaint against Gigaba’s failure to show up in the House on Wednesday .
He was expected to answer questions concerning the naturalisation of the Guptas.
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Mbete has written to Deputy President David Mabuza, as Leader of Government Business, to deal with Gigaba’s failure to pitch up at the National Assembly.
The DA has also indicated that it would table a substantive motion against Gigaba.
The party will ask that he be investigated by the Ethics Committee for allegedly misleading Parliament on the issue.
Mbete told the meeting of the programming committee on Thursday that she wanted Mabuza to act on the matter.
“I have already dispatched last night (Wednesday) a letter to (Mabuza) raising very strongly the concern of the National Assembly, as a general complaint of non-attendance of members of the Executive,” said Mbete.
She added that she would follow up with Mabuza.
“It’s a matter we will be on top of. The new leader of government business comes with a fresh approach,” she said.
Mbete also confirmed in the National Assembly later in the day that she had written to Mabuza about the issue.
At the meeting of the programming committee, other parties said they wanted Gigaba to account for his conduct.
DA chief whip John Steenhuisen told Mbete ministers needed to come to the House and account, and whips of parties had to be informed.
“It was a completely unacceptable state of affairs (on Wednesday) given the fact that there were pertinent questions to be asked to the ministers,” he said.
Parties were keen to ask Gigaba on the naturalisation of the Guptas after he had backtracked on his earlier statement that Atul Gupta was not a South African citizen.
The IEC had confirmed that Atul was registered to vote at a primary school in Saxonwold.
IFP chief whip Narend Singh said the absence of ministers in the House to answer questions raised serious concerns. “It's rather unfortunate what happened in the House on Thursday (Wednesday)," Singh told the gathering.
Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and Floyd Shivambu, of the EFF, were thrown out of the House by Mbete after they called Gigaba a pathological liar and refused to withdraw the remark.
Mbete told the sitting on Thursday Parliament must be notified on time about the availability of ministers.
She said he had written to Mabuza to ensure ministers were available in Parliament to answer questions.
The DA indicated that it would table a substantive motion against Gigaba that he be investigated by the Ethics Committee for misleading Parliament on the naturalisation of the Guptas.
The opposition party said his flip-flops on the matter raised questions about his conduct.
On Thursday EFF leader Julius Malema said his party would help in removing Gigaba the same way they did with former president Jacob Zuma.
Malema said Gigaba’s stay in cabinet was a direct promotion of lawlessness. - Additional reporting by Siviwe Feketha