Provision for Motions of No Confidence in the Rules of the National Assembly: discussion on the position of political parties

Rules of the National Assembly

12 March 2013
Chairperson: Mr M Sisulu (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The Committee met to continue discussions on the appropriate provision for motions of no confidence in the Rules of the National Assembly. Before engaging on the main issue of the day, the Committee considered and adopted the draft minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2013.

The Chief Whip of the ANC told the Committee that
various parties had met to discuss the issue of the appropriate provision for motions of no confidence in the Rules of the National Assembly as directed by the Chairperson during the previous meeting. In a brief from the ANC, the Committee was told that parties had met on two occasions since the last meeting of the Rules Committee and although parties had reached some common ground, there were some issues that they could not agree on. Opposition parties had decided not to continue with their earlier proposal of a one-third-threshold requirement for a second motion of no confidence in the same annual parliamentary session and there was also no agreement with the ANC’s proposal which gave discretionary powers to the Speaker in respect of scheduling motions of no confidence. The ANC refused to agree with the proposal of the opposition parties that voting on a motion of no confidence should be done by secret ballot.

In discussions that followed the briefing, the Chief Whip of the DA said that it was very important for parties to attempt to reach consensus instead of allowing the Constitutional Court to decide on matters such as the one at hand. The DA proposed that discussions could be finalised by the end of the week and that the Constitutional Court be requested to allow the Speaker of the National Assembly to submit a supplementary report. The ANC held that a report could be submitted to the Constitutional Court indicating that parties were discussing the matter. Parties could meet and finalise the proposal by the end of the week.

The Chairperson requested parties to continue with discussions in order to reach consensus as soon as possible. With the agreement of the Committee, the Chairperson said that a progress report was going to be submitted to the Constitutional Court on Thursday, 14 March 2013, and discussions and consultation amongst parties should continue. It was agreed that the Rules Committee would reconvene on Tuesday, 19 March 2013.


Meeting report

Introduction by Chairperson
The Speaker of the National Assembly, as Chairperson, welcomed the members of the Committee. After the tendering of apologies by the Secretary to the National Assembly, Mr Masibulele Xaso, the Chairperson presented the agenda of the day to the Committee. The Committee agreed that as there was only one matter for discussion on the agenda, there would be no need for matters arising. On the proposal of the Chairperson, the agenda, as amended, was agreed to.

Consideration and Adoption of draft minutes of 6 March 2013
The Committee considered the draft committee minutes of the meeting of the 6 March 2013. The draft minutes were adopted with the following amendment: That the name of Ms J Fubbs (ANC) should be deleted from the list of apologies tendered and added under the list of members present.

Further discussion of measures to make appropriate provision for Motions of No Confidence in the Rules of the National Assembly
The Chief Whip of the Majority Party, Mr M Motshekga (ANC) reported that the various parties had met to discuss the issue of the appropriate provision for motions of no confidence in the Rules of the National Assembly as directed by the Chairperson during the previous meeting. He requested Mr J Jeffery (ANC) to report on the deliberations.

Mr J Jeffery (ANC) said that parties had met on two occasions since the last meeting of the Rules Committee. He said that although parties had reached some common ground, there were some issues that they could not agree on. These included disagreements on the following matters:
Opposition parties had decided not to continue with their earlier proposal of a one-third threshold requirement for a second motion of no confidence in the same annual parliamentary session;

There was no agreement on the ANC proposal regarding grounds for moving a motion of no confidence;

There was also no agreement with the ANC’s proposal which gave discretionary powers to the Speaker in respect of the scheduling of motions of no confidence;

Consensus could not be reached on the issue of “reasonable time” or linking it to a specific timeframe; and

There was also no agreement with the ANC’s proposal that an amendment could be moved to the motion of no confidence at the end of the debate to express support in the President.

Mr Jeffery said that the ANC could not agree with the proposal of the opposition parties that voting on a motion of no confidence should be done by secret ballot. Although the opposition parties’ proposal was silent on the matter that a Motion of No Confidence in respect of the same matter may not be brought before the House in the same annual session, there seemed to be agreement on the current National Assembly Rule 95(2). He added that there was agreement among parties on the Speaker’s discretion to decide on the time allocation for debates.

Mr Jeffery stated that parties had expressed their legitimate concerns on the views of other parties and had moved towards common ground on the matter. In this regard, processes had not been exhausted. He proposed that, in light of the court’s directive for Speaker to file a progress report by 14 March, parties should be allowed additional time for discussions and to find common ground. He reiterated that a progress report could be submitted to the court on 14 March 2013.


Discussion
Mr A Watson (DA) said that it was very important for parties to attempt to reach consensus instead of allowing the Constitutional Court to decide on matters such as the one at hand. He said that parties had found ways to accommodate each other and were finding common ground.

The Chairperson requested parties to set a deadline for the conclusion of discussions.

Ms D Schäfer (DA) proposed that discussions could be finalised by the end of the week and that the Constitutional Court be requested to allow the Speaker of the National Assembly to submit a supplementary report.

Ms J Kilian (COPE) said that discussions should continue over the next two days in an attempt to provide a final report to the Constitutional Court on the 14 March. The Constitutional Court could make a ruling on those matters that parties could not agree on.

Ms M Kubayi (ANC) said that it was important for sufficient time to be allowed for discussions to ensure that the process and outcome were not compromised. She said that the Constitutional Court had asked for a progress report on the matter and not a final report.

Adv T Masutha (ANC) said that it would be wrong to panic and rush into finalising the matter. He added that Parliament had systems in place. These systems were still functioning and the current interventions were attempts to improve the existing systems and rules.

Mr Jeffery said that a report could be submitted to the Constitutional Court indicating that parties were discussing the matter. Parties could meet and finalise the proposal by the end of the week of the 18 March. He added that supplementary affidavits could be submitted to the court by the end of March 2013.

Dr M Oriani-Ambrosini (IFP) supported the proposal by Ms Kilian that the matter be finalised before the court date of 14 March 2013.

Mr
M Motshekga said that it would not be helpful if parties rushed the discussion process. He said that for the good of the institution, it was good for parties to reach agreement in an amicable way.

Ms Schäfer disagreed with Adv Masutha and said that motions of no confidence were not appropriately provided for in the Assembly Rules. She also supported the need for further discussions on the matter.

The Chairperson requested parties to continue with discussions in order to reach consensus as soon as possible. With the agreement of the Committee, the Chairperson said that a progress report was going to be submitted to the Constitutional Court on Thursday, 14 March 2013 and discussions and consultation amongst parties should continue.

It was agreed that the Rules Committee would reconvene on Tuesday, 19 March 2013.

The meeting was adjourned.




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