The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) strongly condemns irresponsible attempts by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) today to collapse a Joint Sitting of Parliament held to debate Youth Day.
The EFF objected to the exclusion from the Speakers’ list of the Party’s members of the NCOP and threatened to disrupt the proceedings.
In an earlier written correspondence addressed to the Office of the Chief Whip of the NCOP the Party submitted an apology on behalf of all its Members in that House. The apology reads: “...EFF NCOP will not be participating in the Joint Sitting scheduled today, 11 June 2015 and will not be participating the NCOP plenary tomorrow 12 June 2015.”
Notification was sent 10 minutes before the standard closing time for the submission of parties lists of Speakers as required by the Joint Rules of Parliament. This resulted in the exclusion of the EFF NCOP members from the final Speakers’ list.
The Rules of Debate which govern Joint Rules prescribes that members are called in a debate by the presiding officer in accordance with a list of scheduled speakers and speak according to the length of time allocated to them as per the official list.
Parliament cannot be held to ransom by a group of members who are bent on subverting and disregarding the rules and cause chaos to get their way. Nor can the Rules be adjusted to accommodate disruption and ill-discipline.
The whips of Parties have a duty to ensure discipline among their members and not to condone behaviour and conduct which undermines Parliament and the voters. Presiding officers cannot uphold order in the House without the cooperation of Members.
Parliament calls on all parties to respect abide by the rules and to respect the institution of Parliament and the citizens of the country.
