Zuma set to face more heat

30 January 2015 - 02:27 By Thabo Mokone
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President Jacob Zuma. File photo.
President Jacob Zuma. File photo.
Image: Sunday Times

Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum have agreed to push for President Jacob Zuma to take oral questions in the National Assembly more than once per quarter of the year.

This would mark a crucial departure from the current rules of the National Assembly, which require the president to engage in a question and answer session with MPs "at least once" every three months.

The measure was proposed by IFP chief whip Narend Singh and agreed to by the ANC after the DA, EFF and the FF+ argued during a meeting of the programming committee yesterday that it was time for the legislature to "move beyond the at least once" a quarter rule.

National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete said her office was discussing how to improve the management of parliament, including the scheduling of verbal questions with Zuma.

The parties argued that this would allow parliament to make up "for lost ground" as Zuma took oral questions only once in the fifth parliament following its election last year.

The committee also agreed that the chamber would debate an Agang-SA-sponsored motion of no confidence in Zuma on February 24.

The scheduling of Zuma's verbal Q&As with parliamentarians has been a thorny issue since he was disrupted on August 21 when the EFF demanded that he answer Julius Malema's question as to when he was going to pay back the money spent on his Nkandla homestead.

The Presidency last week wrote to Mbete, informing her that Zuma would be available on March 11 to respond to questions from legislators.

Before the compromise was reached, opposition parties once more voiced their displeasure at how the president had not been regularly taking questions in the National Assembly last year.

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