'MPs out of control'

National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu says he will clamp down on rowdy behaviour by MPs during sittings of the house.

Sisulu told the assembly that recent sittings had been characterised by unbecoming behaviour and poor self-discipline by MPs.

This was making his job of maintaining order and fostering decorum in the chamber difficult and he had decided to take up the matter with the chief whips of all parties represented in parliament.

"Lately, it appears that at times the mood of the house has strayed quite far from the flexibility, accommodation and balance that ideally ought to exist," said Sisulu, delivering the R1.8-billion budget vote of parliament.

Sisulu said that, though it was unavoidable that emotions would often run high during debates in the assembly, MPs had a duty to protect the decorum of parliament.

"My task as speaker is to ensure that the intensity of feeling expressed around some issues is contained within the bounds of civility, without infringing on the freedom of speech that members enjoy.

"All members will recognise that, ultimately, the speaker must depend on the collective and individual self-discipline of members to maintain order and to foster decorum. My authority to enforce the rules depends on the cooperation of members of the house," he said.

Presiding officers in parliament often struggle to rein in backbenchers who interrupt speakers on frivolous points of order.

MPs sometimes openly question the rulings of the presiding officers, which often results in sittings of the house becoming chaotic.

A fortnight ago, MPs of the DA and Freedom Front Plus almost traded blows during the budget vote of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Sisulu said he would take up the issue of bad behaviour with those entrusted with leading caucuses in the National Assembly.

"Regrettably, there is clearly a need to clamp down on unbecoming conduct in the chamber. This is a matter that I wish to take up with the party whips in the coming weeks," he said.

DA chief whip Watty Watson said the speaker's office should beef up its capacity to provide immediate rulings on points of order raised by MPs in order to avoid chaos in the house.

"With a multimillion-rand budget, Mr Speaker, responding to letters and responding to points of order should not cause any operational strain.

"Mr Speaker, your office needs fundamental transformation. You need more support in upholding the rules and making rulings timeously.

"Your office must no longer pride itself on organising events and fanfare," said Watson.