The National Assembly on Thursday adopted a motion that will drastically reduce the response time smaller opposition parties are granted to comment on statements made in the House by Cabinet Ministers.

Currently, the rules allow all parties "not more than three minutes" to respond to such statements.

But in a motion on Thursday, African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip Mathole Motshekga called on members of Parliament (MPs) to resolve that "the time allocated for party responses to executive statements... be as follows: ANC: nine minutes; Democratic Alliance (DA): four minutes; the Congress of the People (Cope): two minutes; Inkatha Freedom party (IFP): one minute; and all other parties one minute each".

Only the IFP and African Christian Democratic Party objected to the resolution, which effectively allows both the ANC and the DA more response time, and all other opposition parties less.

No objection was raised by the official opposition DA.

The IFP objected to the motion on two grounds.

"First of all, we object to the practice of replacing and amending a rule of our National Assembly... without due process.

"Secondly, the [current] rules give equal time to each political party. This amendment moves contrary to the prescription of the Constitution - to protect minorities and give equitable time, rather than proportional time, to minorities.

"By reducing the three minutes - which each political party has in terms of the Constitution - to one minute, it will eliminate the opportunity of meaningful debate..." IFP acting Chief Whip MP
Mario Oriani-Ambrosini said.

Ironically, Oriani-Ambrosini was granted just one minute by the Speaker to motivate his objection. So too was the ACDP.

"We believe it is unconstitutional that a party be given one minute to respond," ACDP MP Steve Swart said.

Responding, Motshekga said his proposal for new times had been agreed to beforehand in the Chief Whips' Forum.

"There was a meeting of the Chief Whips' Forum where the parties were represented, including the IFP... and we agreed on the time allocations we have just proposed.

"So all that we are doing is to make a proposal, formally, that was adopted already by all the parties that were represented," he said.

A vote in the House then saw the motion passed.

In the latest (5th) edition of the "Rules of the National Assembly", rule 106(5) states: "Following any executive statement, a member or members of each of the parties may comment on the executive statement for not more than three minutes per party, commencing with the official opposition and followed by other parties in the order of the size of their membership in the Assembly."