The Acting National Assembly (NA) Speaker, Ms NomaIndiya Mfeketo, has informed Chief Whip of the Opposition Mr Armiston (Watty) Watson that his request for the Speaker to convene a special meeting of the Programme Committee cannot be acceded to.
Mr Watson requested the special NA Programme Committee meeting be convened to discuss a Sunday Times newspaper article which said members of the African National Congress had been “instructed as to how to deal with legislation before the NA”.
The multiparty Programme Committee is tasked with, among others, overseeing the implementation of the annual programme of the NA, including legislation. The committee takes decisions and issues directives and guidelines to prioritise or postpone any business of the NA in concurrence with the Leader of Government Business.
The Committee, at its last meeting, agreed to the framework for the fourth quarter and at its next scheduled meeting on 17 October will consider the programme of the fourth quarter in detail. The report on prioritisation by the office of the Leader of Government Business is still awaited and could also be discussed at the meeting on 17 October.
In her response to Mr Watson’s request, Ms Mfeketo expressed concern about the Speaker convening a special meeting of the Programme Committee to discuss a newspaper report, the veracity of which has not been established.
How members of political parties represented in Parliament deal with business of the NA forms part of parties’ own internal arrangements, managed by the Whips of the parties. The Speaker of the NA cannot become involved in these internal arrangements.
Mr Watson has been advised to consider referring the matter of the article to the Chief Whips Forum, of which he is a member and which is the inter-party forum for discussing and coordinating matters for which Whips are responsible.
