The motion of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa has been placed in limbo after parties disagreed on how to proceed on Wednesday.
CAPE TOWN – The motion of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa has been thrown into limbo after parties disagreed on how to proceed on Wednesday.
This led Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to refer the matter to the programming committee on Thursday to take a decision on it.
The political parties presented different positions on the motion.
This was after African Transformation Movement (ATM) leader Vuyo Zungula asked Mapisa-Nqakula that the motion be postponed.
But other parties wanted it to be removed from the order paper of Parliament.
Zungula had argued the matter was sub judice and Parliament could not proceed to debate and vote on the motion.
But Mapisa-Nqakula said she was advised by the legal services of Parliament that the matter was not sub judice.
ANC MPs also said the matter was not sub judice.
IFP chief whip Narend Singh suggested that the motion be referred to the programming committee for a decision when it meets on Thursday.
Other parties also suggested that the National Assembly could not go ahead and debate the motion.
This led Mapisa-Nqakula to refer the issue to the programming committee for a decision.
“I now rule that we are not proceeding with this matter and the details of what we do next will be dealt with tomorrow in the programming committee,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
The matter has been dragging on for two years since the ATM first tabled it in February 2020 and it was later taken to court.
The ATM went to the Western Cape High Court on Monday on an urgent basis, calling for a secret ballot, but the court ruled that its application was not urgent.
– POLITICAL BUREAU
