There is a motion filed before the Parliament of South Africa calling for the employment of a Sangoma (a witch-doctor) to screen members of the House.
Andries Tlouamma of the AgangSAtabled, who tabled the motion for Parliament to “hire services of a sangoma”, said the Sangoma “will check whether honourable members are not bewitched or if they are not suffering from a mental illness”.
Tlouamma said the sangoma would also help them focus on their real job as MPs.
Surprisingly and interestingly, there were no objections to the motion.
It was among several motions tabled after the National Assembly had voted 217 to 78 to reject a motion to censure President Jacob Zuma for an alleged failure to comply with the rules of the House.
The vote had been preceded a heated debate about Zuma’s failure to answer oral questions in the National Assembly since August 21 when the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MPs chanted that he pay back the money spent on the non-security upgrades at his private home.
Most of the opposition parties accused Zuma of undermining the Constitution, which prescribes that he must account to Parliament, and he is also accused of flouting parliamentary rules, which dictate that he should answer questions to the National Assembly four times a year – once in each quarter.
However, ANC MPs defended Zuma and blamed his failure to come to Parliament on his busy schedule, as well as on the climate in the House “that was not conducive” and a “misunderstanding of the law by opposition MPs” who demanded that the president be censured.
The debate came less than two days after a deal was brokered by deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, as leader of government business, between the ruling party and the opposition party, to set aside the verbal wars and disruptions in the House.
Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary leader, Mmusi Maimane, on whose name the censure motion was tabled, led the opposition’s charge. He described the meeting with Ramaphosa as positive as they had agreed at the meeting that the rules of Parliament needed to be applied in a fair and consistent way, and that this was the only way that any MP could have confidence in the presiding officers.
“We will participate fully in the informal committee of political leaders formed at yesterday’s meeting, but let me make it clear that our participation does not mean we will be co-opted,” he said.
Maimane said the parliamentary crisis that saw the public order police barge into the National Assembly while it was in session to remove EFF MP Reneilwe Mashabela from the House, could have been avoided had the rules been fairly applied.
“And most importantly, if the president obeyed the rules of Parliament and came here to answer oral questions, it would not have happened. That is what is at the heart of all of this – our president is absent without leave,” he said.
“Honourable members, vote with us to send President Zuma a message – that this is the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, a proud and independent defender of the Constitution – and we will not be pushed over. Vote with us to uphold the Constitution and the spirit in which it was written,” he appealed.
The ANC was in total support of Zuma. In an interesting move, ANC MPs came down hard on Maimane and the DA, and not so much on the EFF, which the ANC has in the past blamed for all the chaos in Parliament over the past few months.
Senior ANC MP Mathole Motshekga blamed Maimane for everything that is wrong with Parliament.
He said the ANC was completely taken aback by the DA’s decision to proceed with the motion of censure against Zuma, despite the agreement with Ramaphosa. “Renegading on this agreement a mere 24 hours after it was reached, the DA acted dishonestly, dishonourably and undermined the entire political intervention by the honourable deputy president.
He said the dishonest and dishonourable conduct of the DA confirmed that they are responsible for the destruction of the dignity, integrity and the standing of Parliament.
The conduct of the DA has brought this Parliament and our country into disrepute, destroying the culture of substantive quality debates and introducing insulting language and personal attacks on the speaker of the House and the president.
“I therefore stand here on behalf of the ANC, our glorious movement to bury the motion of censure and to call for the revival of the report of the powers and privileges committee,” said Motshekga.
The Powers and privileges report was put aside, as part of the agreement between Ramaphosa and the opposition parties, while trying to seek a political solution. The report recommended that EFF MPs be suspended from Parliament, some for 30 days and others for 14 days without pay. Motshekga then declared that the agreement with Ramaphosa was null and void.
“The conduct of Honourable Maimane has rendered yesterday’s agreement meaningless, unworkable and null and void,” declared Motshekga. He concluded by saying there was no legal or factual basis for Parliament to censure Zuma.