/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu, referred the DA’s motion for debate on the R206 million upgrade of President Zuma’s Nkandla home back to the Chief Whip’s Forum at today’s National Assembly Programming Committee, as no agreement could be reached.

The DA will stand firm on this matter. We have been allocated the space in the parliamentary schedule to have a DA motion debated, and it cannot be up to the ANC to decide on our behalf what to debate.

If the ANC continues to block my motion in its on-going effort to protect President Zuma from being held to account, then the Speaker must reconsider the decision not to allow a debate of public importance on ‘Nkandlagate’ in terms of Rule 103 of the Rules of the National Assembly.

In terms of the correspondence I received from then Acting Speaker, Nomaindia Mfeketo, our request for this debate of public importance was rejected on the basis that I could table an ordinary notice of motion for debate. Since this has been prevented, there is no reason why such a debate cannot now be granted.

It is clear that the ANC is prepared to go to any lengths to prevent Members of Parliament from doing the job they were elected to do.

They are running scared because they know that spending R206 million on one man cannot be defended in Parliament.

The DA will continue to fight for this debate. President Zuma must answer for this scandal and Parliament must do everything possible to ensure that he does so..