Parliament adopts minimum attendance standards for members and new rule on motions of no confidence in president
The multiparty Joint Rules Committee on 6 March adopted a policy for Members’ attendance of Parliamentary sittings and meetings. The National Assembly (NA) has also adopted a new rule on motions of no confidence in the Cabinet or the President.
In terms of the attendance policy, which sets minimum attendance standards, Members could lose their seats if they are absent for 15 or more consecutive sitting days of the NA or National Council of Provinces (NCOP), without permission from the particular House.
If a Member’s leave period exceeds 15 consecutive sitting days of either the NA or NCOP, the House must table a motion giving the reason for the continued absence and must agree to this motion to grant this additional leave.
Members absent from three consecutive meetings of a Committee, of which they are full members, and who do not have permission from their political parties for this absence, may have to pay a fine of R1 000 for each day of absence.
The policy accepts that political parties are responsible for managing and controlling their members’ absence from Parliament. However, each Member has a dual responsibility – to their political party and to Parliament as an institution.
The attendance policy, which has undergone lengthy discussion within political parties represented in Parliament and in multiparty structures, such as the Chief Whips’ Forums of the NA and the NCOP and the Joint Chief Whips’ Forum, will now be incorporated into the Rules. The Rules, themselves, have been under review.
Also to be incorporated into the Rules is a new rule about motions of no confidence in the Cabinet or President. The NA agreed to this rule in February.
The new rule, among others, enables a Member of the NA to propose that such a motion, in terms of section 102 of the Constitution, be placed on the Order Paper. The rule also outlines the role of the NA Speaker in ensuring the motion complies with relevant laws, rules, orders or guidelines of the NA before being placed on the Order Paper and the scheduling of such a motion for debate and voting in the NA.
The new rule follows the finding by the Constitutional Court in 2013 that the Rules of the NA relating to the programming of such motions were unconstitutional as they did not provide for the tabling of motions of no confidence. The court confirmed an earlier decision of the Western Cape High Court that, in terms of the existing rules, the Speaker, acting alone, had no residual power to schedule a motion of no confidence in the President to be debated and voted on in the NA.
Enquiries:
Malatswa Evans Molepo
Tel: 021 403 8438
Cell: 0732971914
E-mail: mmolepo@parliament.gov.za
