“Given that the taxpayer has most likely footed the bill for the President's legal costs‚ the full amount spent should be revealed‚ in the public interest‚” Selfe said.
He said the question posed was specific and straightforward yet the President had steadfastly refused to answer and the Deputy Speaker refused to require him to answer it.
“Sections 42 (3) and 55 of the Constitution sets out that the National Assembly has a responsibility to hold the Executive to account‚ and that it must provide mechanisms to ensure accountability. Parliamentary questions are one such mechanism.
“The National Assembly Rules set out how often the President should appear to answer questions and the Executive Ethics code makes it clear‚ in its General Standards‚ that members of the executive must adhere to certain standards and that no member may mislead those who they are accountable to.