The Speaker of Parliament‚ Baleka Mbete‚ says she won’t resign in the wake of the Constitutional Court’s findings last week that President Jacob Zuma and the National Assembly had violated the constitution with regards to the Nkandla debacle.She told a news conference on Sunday that she would also not consider recusing herself from Tuesday’s debate in Parliament on a motion tabled by the Democratic Alliance calling for Zuma to be impeached.Mbete added that she could not agree to a “free vote” on Tuesday. “We’ll use the rules we’ve always used.”The chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP)‚ Thandi Modise‚ said she also would not resign as the NCOP had nothing to do with the matter.Thursday’s judgment by the Constitutional Court found that Zuma and the National Assembly had failed to uphold the Constitution in their treatment of the Public Protector's remedial action on the government’s spending at Zuma's Nkandla homestead.The court ordered that Zuma repay some of the money spent on non-security upgrades at the private home. Mbete told the briefing by Parliament’s presiding officers that Parliament appreciated the clarity provided by Thursday’s Constitutional Court findings.“The judgment makes sound‚ balanced and critical findings. In an important way‚ these are major and most welcomed lessons that will serve to guide our processes and approach in handling reports of chapter nine institutions in future.“There is now legal certainty on this matter.“One thing is certain - our democracy is alive and well‚” Mbete stated.She conceded that‚ with the benefit of the judgment‚ certain matters could have been handled differently.“I am certain that the National Assembly and all its Committees will use this judgment to guide the relevant processes in future.“We cannot over emphasise the fact that the Constitution is the foundation of our society. The Constitutional Court on the other hand is guardian of our Constitution. We appreciate the clarity provided by the Court on all the matters which it dealt with. She believed that all parties must collectively reflect on the judgment and said she would meet with the various parties in Parliament to discuss the matter to see how it could approve the mechanisms of Parliament.Mbete added that the court’s affirmation of the powers of the National Assembly boded well for democracy.She went to great pains‚ however‚ to point out that in her opinion the court had not found that the National Assembly had violated the Constitution‚ but rather had been critical of certain actions of the house. “The court found that it was not correct for the National Assembly to pass a resolution that purported effectively to nullify the findings made and remedial action taken by the Public Protector and replacing them with its own findings and “remedial action”. It stated‚ “on a proper construction of its constitutional obligations‚ the National Assembly was duty-bound to hold the President accountable by facilitating and ensuring compliance with the decision of the Public Protector. The exception would be where the findings and remedial action are challenged and set aside by a court‚ which was of course not done in this case”.“Therefore‚ the Constitutional Court found that the resolution passed by the National Assembly absolving the President from compliance with the remedial action taken by the Public Protector in terms of section 182(1)(c) of the Constitution was inconsistent with sections 42(3)‚ 55(2)(a) and (b) and 181(3) of the Constitution‚ was invalid and was set aside‚” Mbete explained...