National Speaker considers DA’s request
JOBURG - President Jacob Zuma has come under attack from opposition parties following the Public Protector's report on the upgrades to his Nkandla residence
National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu is mulling over the formation of an ad-hoc committee to consider the DA’s motion to impeach President Jacob Zuma.
Sisulu sent DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko a letter, acknowledging the party’s request and stated that he would reply with outcomes at the earliest opportunity, but gave no fixed timeframe.
“Mr Sisulu has indicated that he is considering my request for the establishment of an ad-hoc committee and the initiation of impeachment proceedings against President Jacob Zuma,” Mazibuko said.
However, Sisulu noted that according to the Executive Members’ Ethics Act, Zuma had 14 days to comment on the Public Protector’s report and indicate any steps he intended to take.
Mazibuko wrote to Sisulu informing him of the DA’s intention to invoke Section 89 of the Constitution in a bid to have Zuma removed from office, following the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report regarding the security upgrades at the President’s Nkandla residence.
“I have written back to Mr Sisulu requesting clarity on when this crucial decision which is given effect to by the Constitution, will be made,” Mazibuko said.
In her response, Mazibuko also requested an urgent meeting with Sisulu to discuss the matter, arguing that consideration of the formation of an ad-hoc committee and the motion for impeachment was not dependent on Zuma’s response and proposed action regarding the report.
According to the report, titled Secure in Comfort, Zuma had improperly benefited from the public-funded upgrades to his private residence, costing R246 million.
Meanwhile, the ANC affiliated Congress of South African Trade Unions, has rejected the calls for the impeachment of Zuma and opposition parties’ plans to lay charges in court.
According to the union, the DA and other parties supporting this action were using Nkandla to revive their flagging election campaigns and finding ways to keep themselves in the media headlines.
The union also attacked media coverage of the Nkandla saga and said, “No citizen, including the president of the country can be found guilty through sustained media attacks based on misinformation and biased analysis, designed to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of people about both the President and the ANC, as we have seen the media doing on the Nkandla report.”
