COSATU MEDIA
Cosatu has bemoaned the composition of Parliament’s impeachment committee investigating President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal, while the MK Party claims the process is biased in favour of the ANC.
Trade union federation Cosatu believes the composition of Parliament’s impeachment committee is unconstitutional.
The committee will consist of 31 MPs from 16 parties, with the ANC allocated a majority of nine members, while the DA has five, the MK Party three, and the EFF two.
The remaining 12 seats will be shared among smaller parties.
The directive establishing the committee was issued by the National Assembly Speaker, Thoko Didiza, under Section 89 of the Constitution.
This follows a Constitutional Court ruling, which revived the Section 89 inquiry into the alleged cover-up of the theft of a large amount of foreign currency at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Limpopo farm in 2020.
The apex court ruled that the legislature acted unconstitutionally when it voted not to adopt the report and set up an impeachment committee.
It ordered Parliament to establish an impeachment committee for Ramaphosa to answer to prima facie evidence about foreign currency stolen from his Phala Phala farm.
Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says Parliament’s decision on how parties will be represented on the committee is unconstitutional.
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He says the committee includes political parties with negligible representation in Parliament.
“ This has been done at the expense of the largest party in Parliament, the African National Congress, which, in proportion to its representation, is entitled to at least twelve members or 40%.
“Instead, it has been allocated nine or 30%. This directly undermines the electorate, which saw fit in the 2024 national elections to provide the ANC with 40% of the seats in Parliament.”
However, the MK Party, the official opposition in Parliament, told the SABC that it believes the committee is rigged in favour of the ANC and its government of national unity allies.
“We also do not want a repeat of what happened in 2022, where the ANC used its majority to protect Ramaphosa,” said the MK Party’s Visvin Reddy.
“I still don’t understand why ANC leaders want to protect this man. He’s a liability.”
Source: https://www.jacarandafm.com/news/news/cosatu-mkp-unhappy-composition-impeachment-committee/