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Parliament says no amount of blackmail or pressure will push it to undermine or violate the legislative prescripts it passed to promote good governance. Parliament’s response follows a negative article of the City Press that suggests that Parliament should have disqualified and discriminated prospective employees merely on the basis of their political affiliation.

Parliament asserts that such a narrative has no basis either in law or in terms of established or best business practices anywhere. Section 2.1 of the Employment Equity Act prohibits direct or indirect discrimination in any employment policy or practice. The Constitution's Bill of Rights also states that every citizen of South Africa has the right to freedom of association and to make political choices, and therefore any blacklisting of certain individuals from the employ of a Constitutional creation such as Parliament, merely because of their previous or current political associations, would be unconstitutional, illegal and an unfair labor practice.

Parliament reiterates that the senior managers that recently joined its staff, were recruited in line with the established fair, open, transparent and competitive processes which took into consideration their experience, skills and competencies for their respective areas of responsibility. The new senior managers, as any other prospective employees, were also subjected to a battery of checks, which included interviews, psychometric tests, reference checks and screening. It is neither the policy of Parliament nor a legal practice for prospective employees to be quizzed or required to disclose their political affiliation.

Like any working environment, it is inevitable that staff members of Parliament would hold certain political beliefs or have political associations. However, staff members are enjoined by the policies, the relevant laws governing Parliament administration and the Constitution to serve the institution and the nation impartially and with professionalism. The vision, mission and values of Parliament strictly demand nothing less.

Parliament's recruitment practices are legally sound and a standard practice employed anywhere, including across all spheres of government and the legislative sector. In certain provinces, former party MPs and senior political party staff have gone on to head certain State Owned Enterprises or hold senior positions in government and legislatures. Such practices, it would seem, have conveniently escaped the selective scrutiny of City Press, that wishes to impose such unconstitutional employment practices on Parliament by hook or by crook.

Issued by Parliament of South Africa