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Today, the DA walked out of the National Assembly in protest against a ruling made by the Deputy Speaker, Nomaindia Mfeketo, that Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota should withdraw his remarks made during the Presidency budget vote last week.

During the debate, Mr Lekota argued that President Zuma did not uphold his oath of office in failing to stand up for the constitutional rights of Goodman Gallery director Liza Essers and artist Brett Murray to express themselves freely.

We walked out of Parliament today to express our opposition to the ruling, and to the continued misuse of parliamentary rules and procedures by the ANC to advance its political agenda.

Parliament is one of the three arms of the state, yet under the rule of the current ANC administration it has been reduced to the status of a rubber stamp and an uncritical forum for ANC politicking.

We will not shirk our responsibility to always hold the government accountable for its actions. Nor will we be bullied into silence when it is our constitutional responsibility to oversee the President’s delivery mandate.

The DA is committed to ensuring that Parliament is afforded the space to conduct its oversight work in a manner that is robust and effective.