Cape Town - The DA is crying foul after its request for a parliamentary debate on “Nkandlagate” was turned down by acting Speaker of Parliament Nomaindia Mfeketo.
Mfeketo and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) chairman, Mninwa Mahlangu, also rejected the DA’s request for a joint sitting of Parliament to allow President Jacob Zuma to present his plans to revive the economy.
DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said that over the past week she had received two letters from parliament’s presiding officers rejecting both her calls for a debate on the money being spent on President Jacob Zuma’s private Nkandla homestead and for a joint sitting of Parliament to allow Zuma to present his plan of action for the economy.
The improvements to Zuma’s Nkandla homestead are reportedly costing taxpayers almost R250m, but the government is refusing to divulge details.
Referring to the rejection of her call for debate, Mazibuko said: “These decisions are disappointing in the context of the serious challenges facing South Africa today.
“Instead of engaging with these pressing public matters, Parliament is increasingly divorcing itself from the concerns of South Africa’s citizens for the sake of avoiding politically contentious issues.”
She said the DA would raise both requests at the next meeting of the Parliamentary Oversight Authority.
“It must be made clear to the presiding officers that debating issues of public importance is not a nice-to-have, but a key component of our constitutional obligation to hold the executive to account,” said Mazibuko.
In a letter to Mazibuko, Mfeketo said such debates failed to satisfy relevant parliamentary criteria and there were more suitable channels.
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