Cape Town - The ATM on Thursday pushed for a secret ballot to be conducted when the report of the panel of independent experts on Phala Phala is put to a vote at the sitting of the National Assembly, scheduled for Tuesday.
However, National Assembly Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, said she would decide, when a request was made.
This emerged at the meeting of the National Assembly Programme Committee (NAPC)on Thursday, when MPs from opposition parties wanted to know what would happen during the proceedings.
DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube asked about the upcoming proceedings, enquiring about the process that was to be followed in handling the report.
“Can it be considered like any usual report? Are there going to be declarations or debates? Are we to vote on it like we do after the declarations?” she asked.
Gwarube said that it was important for them to know about the process.
“This is no ordinary report and the NAPC is the best platform to know how the process is going to work,” she said.
National Assembly secretary, Masibulele Xaso noted that Gwarube had asked for manual voting and that the rules gave Mapisa-Nqakula the power to determine the type of voting.
“The last time we had a manual voting process, on March 30, it took us one and half hours to complete the voting,” Xaso said.
He said the decision lay with the NAPC on whether there should be a debate or declaration by the parties.
ACDP chief whip Steve Swart said there should be a full debate on the matter.
“We need to properly ventilate that issue. This is an opportune moment to have an input on that issue,” Swart said.
IFP chief whip Narend Singh said they needed clarity over whether there would be a resolution put at the end of the debate to constitute an impeachment committee.
EFF MP Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi said there should be clarity on what needed to be done and what would happen on Tuesday.
“The country is waiting for Parliament to process the issue after the country also has access to the report of the panel,” Mkhaliphi said.
ATM leader Vuyo Zungula echoed the sentiments of earlier speakers that it would be important to discuss what would happen on Tuesday.
Zungula said his party wanted voting to be done by secret vote, given the gravity and seriousness of the report and its recommendations.
“We believe that voting next Tuesday must be done by secret ballot.”
Zungula also said a motion of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa should be tabled as soon as possible.
Xaso explained that the parliamentary rules provided for the panel’s report to be tabled as soon as possible.
The MPs would first debate the report, be asked whether they agreed with the report’s recommendations and vote on a method determined by Mapisa-Nqakula.
“If the House says ‘yes we agree with the report’, we proceed with (constituting) the impeachment committee,” he said.
Xaso said Mapisa-Nqakula would determine its membership and that there would be no need for another motion for establishment of the impeachment committee.
Cape Times