DA to request an urgent meeting of the NAPC

Mluleki Mrwebi
22 September 2013

The Democratic Alliance MP Watty Watson today said he will be writing to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu, to request that he call an urgent meeting of the National Assembly Programming Committee to discuss the ANC’s abuse and manipulation of the Parliamentary Programme ahead of the 2014 elections.

This comes after media reports reported that an ANC election memorandum has instructed ANC MPs to rush through certain pieces of legislation, and hold back on other controversial bills before the elections.

Watson said this is an appalling abuse of the parliamentary process and undermines the constitutionally enshrined independence of Parliament. As a multi-party institution, programming is done in consultation with all political parties represented in Parliament, regardless of their size.

He added that the DA will not sit back and allow the ruling party to short-circuit a proper parliamentary process on any bill before it. Every single bill before Parliament demands close scrutiny and public participation, anything less would be a disservice to the people of South Africa.