Do the right thing, Madam Speaker

Forgive us, Madam Speaker of the National Assembly, if we do not run into the street celebrating your commitment to take into account “a wide range of factors” in deciding whether the August 8 no-confidence vote in President Jacob Zuma should take place in secret.

As speaker, Ms Baleka Mbete, you have demonstrated that your allegiance is with Zuma – so we think it legitimate to ask exactly what you would consider to be a “wide range” of factors.

Certainly, loyalty to party counts above loyalty to the country and its citizens … and way above personal conscience. We believe that a party which believes in democracy (and abhors any form of intimidation) – and which knows it is behaving correctly – would welcome a secret ballot.

The fact that so many in your party insist that its “discipline” be followed and who even go to the extent of threatening “dissidents” like Makhosi Khoza, indicates that freedom of thought is a concept you don’t embrace.

We don’t expect much from you, because, obviously, those wide-ranging factors will play a crucial role.

But at the risk of sounding woefully optimistic, we make this suggestion to you: Do the right thing.