Keep riot police out of chamber - DA
INDEPENDENT MEDIA
Cape Town - The DA has rejected comments by ANC chief whip Stone Sizani,
who proposed that “riot police” can and will be used to safeguard the National
Assembly chamber.
“Our position on this issue has been consistently clear – police are
never welcome in the parliamentary chamber,” said chief whip John Steenhuisen.
He said sending the police in to quell political dissent was a violation
of the constitution and could never be justified.
“It is the parliamentary security services, not the police, that must be
empowered to deal with any issues in the chamber, as they report to the Speaker
and to Parliament as an institution. It was the incursion by the police and the
violence that followed which caused the massive degeneration in the chamber the
last time. We must never go down that road again. Police presence and physical
violence have no place in Parliament,” said Steenhuisen.
He was referring to the November incident when SAPS members removed EFF
MP Ngwanamakwetle Mashabela from the National Assembly after she refused to
withdraw a statement that President Jacob Zuma is a thief.
“The very nature of Parliament as an institution is to facilitate robust
debate and ensure executive accountability. Any attempt by the ruling party or
the Speaker to suppress this by using riot police can never be tolerated,” said
Steenhuisen.
ANC parliamentary spokesman Moloto Mothapo said Steenhuisen and the
media should refrain from calling police in Parliament “riot police”.
“I don’t know why they bring up the name ‘riot police’. Calling them
riot police is just a creation and to be alarmist on the issue. The law
outlines the circumstance where police can be called, and the order of the
house rests with the presiding officer,” said Mothapo.
He noted that the police members in Parliament were ordinary police.
“This is being used to exaggerate the type of police we have,” said
Mothapo.
He said Sizani merely articulated the provisions of the Powers,
Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act
regarding the restoration of order in the House.
The rules of Parliament also came under the spotlight when MPs in the
rules committee suggested that Parliament hire a private security company to
remove unruly members from the National Assembly.
Parliament’s rules committee is finalising the proposed rules.
Other proposals include reducing the time for tabling motions to 20
minutes and allowing only party whips to raise points of order.
MPs could also be required to quote the specific rule they are raising
on a point of order, and the Speaker could be given the right to switch off an
MP’s microphone if the member is not recognised.
Political Bureau
