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ANC Chief Whip, Mathale Motshekga’s support for the Department of State Security’s propaganda campaign today shows a blatant misunderstanding of the role of Parliament and the separation of powers. It also gives us an insight into the real purpose of the advertising campaign in the first place: to conjure up support for a bill which the ANC has failed to garner support for, and which has been flatly rejected by the South African people.
It is indeed a serious violation of the separation of powers for the executive to use state resources to push for support for a bill which is still being considered by Parliament. In effect, the Department of State Security is using public money in an attempt to convince South Africans of what the ANC has failed to do over the last year.
This bill has not been finalised, nor has it been signed into law. It remains under the jurisdiction of Parliament, and the executive has no right to embark on an “education campaign”. The Chief Whip of the Majority Party should know this.
The ASA has received my complaint and I look forward to a ruling on this matter. I have also written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon Sisulu, and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Hon Mahlangu, to request that Parliament move to have the advertising withdrawn and whether any rules of Parliament have been violated by the actions of the executive.
The DA will take all necessary steps to ensure that the integrity of Parliament is protected throughout this process.