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ActionSA will not support the EFF’s Motion of No Confidence in the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Thoko Didiza, when it comes before Parliament this afternoon.

To be clear, our decision is not an endorsement of every decision taken by the Speaker, nor is it political cover for the ANC-led Government of National Unity (GNU). It is a principled assessment of whether the case advanced by the Economic Freedom Fighters meets the serious threshold required to remove the presiding officer of the National Assembly.

In our assessment is that it does not.

A Motion of No Confidence cannot simply become the parliamentary remedy whenever a political party disagrees with a ruling, decision or exercise of discretion by the Speaker.

Removing a speaker requires substantive grounds demonstrating that she has fundamentally failed in the duties of her office, compromised the integrity of Parliament or become incapable of presiding over the House with the required impartiality.

In this instance, we do not believe the EFF has established that case.

ActionSA has itself been sharply critical of Speaker Didiza's handling of aspects of the Section 89 process concerning President Cyril Ramaphosa. Where we believe the Speaker or Parliament has erred, we have said so publicly and without hesitation. But political criticism cannot be converted into grounds for removal merely because it is convenient to do so.

Indeed, our assessment of Speaker Didiza's tenure is that, notwithstanding areas of disagreement, she has discharged the responsibilities of her office with a degree of restraint and institutional independence far exceeding those of her predecessors.

That independence has been particularly important during the current Section 89 Impeachment process.

When President Ramaphosa obtained a temporary interdict affecting the work of the Section 89 Committee, Speaker Didiza did not seek to dictate the Committee's response or politically predetermine its course. Her decision not to oppose the interdict but rather to table an explanatory affidavit, allowed the Committee to consider the legal position and determine its own response. Whatever our disagreements with other decisions taken during this process, that was an important demonstration of respect for the Committee's institutional independence.

It would therefore be contradictory for ActionSA to demand that the Speaker respect parliamentary processes when it suits us but seek her removal simply because we disagree with her when it does not.

More importantly, Parliament must guard against allowing this motion to distract it from the far more consequential accountability matter presently before it: President Cyril Ramaphosa must account through the Section 89 Impeachment process without further delay or obstruction.

South Africans should become familiar with what is increasingly emerging as the Ramaphosa Doctrine: and, by extension, the ANC playbook: Delay. Dilute. Distract.

Delay accountability for as long as procedurally possible.
Dilute the substance through endless technical disputes.
Distract attention by shifting the political battlefield elsewhere.

ActionSA will not participate in that distraction. Our role as an opposition party is not to oppose everything because somebody else proposed it, nor to support every attack against an ANC office-bearer simply because she belongs to the ANC.

We will oppose what deserves opposition, support what deserves support, and judge every matter on its merits.

Parliament's institutions cannot be destabilised through motions that fail to establish sufficient substantive grounds merely because they may offer short-term political advantage.

ActionSA will therefore vote against the EFF Motion of No Confidence in Speaker Thoko Didiza.

At the same time, our vote must not be mistaken for a blank cheque. We will continue to scrutinise Speaker Didiza's decisions, challenge her where necessary and insist that the National Assembly exercises its constitutional responsibilities without fear, favour or political interference.

Protecting the integrity of the Office of the Speaker is not protecting the ANC. It is protecting Parliament. And protecting Parliament means ensuring that no one, including the President of the Republic is permitted to escape accountability through delaying, dilution or distraction tactics.

Issued by ActionSA National Spokesperson Lerato Ngobeni