Cape Town - EFF MPs Sam Matiase and Primrose Sonti have been suspended without pay for disrupting Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan following a recommendation made by the Powers and Privileges Committee to the National Assembly.
The House adopted two reports from the committee and another three reports from the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members Interest which could see MPs being either sanctioned or suspended.
The plenary sitting took place on Tuesday.
Matisse and Sonti were among those who disrupted Gordhan as he delivered his Budget Vote Speech on July 11, 2019.
At the time of the debate, 16 EFF MPs caused ructions and prevented the minister from delivering his Budget speech. EFF MPs repeatedly raised points of order, which House chairperson Grace Boroto ruled as invalid.
In March last year, the committee met to deliberate and considered, among other things, the allegations relating to the July 11, 2019, incident and resolved that the affected members be charged for constituting contempt of Parliament.
The Covid-19 pandemic contributed to the delay of the committee's work as proceedings resumed again from November 2020.
A parliamentary statement reads that having considered all mitigating facts and in light of its findings of guilt against the 16 members, the committee recommended that the National Assembly imposed the following sanctions: Suspension of Matiase and Sonti as repeat offenders of contempt of Parliament, without remuneration for Sonti period not exceeding 30 days, whether or not the House or any of its committees is scheduled to meet during that period, be imposed as set out in section12(g) of the act; and a fine not exceeding one month’s salary and allowances payable to each of the 14 members under the Remuneration of Public Officer Bearers Act,1998.
The second report referred to the allegations of conduct constituting contempt of Parliament by members of the EFF who were unsatisfied with the presence of the last apartheid president FW de Klerk during the State of the Nation Address (Sona) on February 13, 2020.
“The committee observed that members of the EFF raised several points of order objecting to the presence of former president FW de Klerk in the public gallery and asked that he be requested to leave the Chamber. They raised further points of order objecting to the presence of Minister Gordhan.
“Having deliberated on the findings, the committee recommended that the referral of the Sona incident of February 13, 2020, did not have a reasonable prospect of success and, therefore, should not proceed,” the statement read.
The Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests committee reports which were considered and adopted. MPs are required to disclose their registrable interests annually at a time determined by the Joint Committee on Ethics.
In 2019, 17 MPs failed or neglected to submit their disclosure of financial and registrable interests by the due date, whilst in 2020 there were eight members. The committee recommended different penalties to the members who breached the code, including a reprimand in the House or a fine not exceeding the value of 30 days’ salary.
The committee further considered a complaint against ANC MP Faiez Jacobs on an alleged breach of the code of ethics for referring to Bonteheuwel ward councillor Angus McKenzie as “a House n***” in a community chat WhatsApp group last year.
“In processing the complaint, the committee considered the origin of the term and found it dehumanising, derogatory and used during the slave era to refer to a black person as subservient. The Joint Committee found Mr Jacobs guilty and ordered him to issue a public apology in Parliament,” it reads.
Political Bureau