(The following debate was delivered during a Sitting of the KZN Legislature held today)
The DA recognises the immense work of the KZN Legislature Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Secretary and their teams who, time and again, go beyond just stretching their budget and continue to achieve repeat clean audits.
Defining ‘Honourable’:
Honourable members of this House have a duty to give effect to the word “Honourable”, embodying the qualities of honesty, humility in leadership, good common sense, resilience, adaptability, empathy and, importantly, integrity.
When we refer to each other as “Honourable”, it is understood to mean:
• that the House presumes every member behaves honourably unless proven otherwise;
• that members are entitled to courtesy irrespective of political differences; and
• that debate should remain respectful, even during vigorous disagreement, reflecting the principle that debate should address ideas rather than personalities.
We refer to each other as Honourable Members because;
• It discourages personal attacks;
• It reminds members that they are debating as public office holders;
• It protects the dignity of this House; and
• It reinforces the Chair’s authority by requiring members to address their remarks through the Speaker.
Echoes of 15 December:
On 15 December last year, the very meaning of “Honourable” collapsed within KZN’s Legislature. There was a refusal to obey the Presiding Officer. Proceedings had to be suspended. There was serious disorder. There were physical altercations. The Speaker was assaulted. The police entered this chamber.
There were echoes of this last week, when physical violence was threatened between members on both sides of the House.
Last Friday during the Health Budget Debate, uMkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) members were heard telling me to go back to Pakistan. Yes, I lived and worked there. Their bigotry knows no bounds. Then, during last week’s Public Works Budget Debate, the Honourable Bongumusa Mkhize said that once the MKP is done with African foreigners, white South Africans would be next.
The MKP has turned this House into a platform where bigotry, intimidation and division are treated as acceptable forms of political discourse.
At a Whips’ Forum meeting recently, MKP whips delayed proceedings for 20 minutes because they could not remember attending a Programming Meeting in December last year. At another Whips’ Forum meeting, we learnt of a member who had applied for a driver. That “Honourable” Member submitted two medical reports from doctors of their own choosing, claiming poor eyesight and painful ankles prevented them from driving. Yet an independent assessment by Legislature doctors found the member had 20/20 vision and needed nothing more than Panado for the ankles. This debacle came at considerable cost to the Legislature while member costs remain high.
Auditing of travel distances:
It cannot be that a member travels from eThekwini to Pietermaritzburg and claims for the same distance that I travel from Newcastle.
The DA will also insist on a list of “no-shows”. There are Members who insist on having accommodation booked, and don’t arrive at meetings. These matters take away funding from the Legislature’s core oversight duty.
Funding:
The MKP receives an annual allowance of just over R101 million, of which R91million goes towards their constituency allowance. Yet they cannot pay the rent for their offices.
They receive more than R5million as a research allowance yet the Honourable Mervyn Dirks stands here, abusing the privilege of this podium, and lies about the uMngeni Municipality polluting our rivers. The MKP constituency offices are locked, their staff are absent, and they therefore cannot verify even the most basic facts. Lies and insults have become their substitute for research.
When you cannot run your own offices, you have no business asking KZN’s people to trust you with running the province.
Afrika Mayibuye Movement founder and leader, Floyd Shivambu’s utterances as he was exiting the MKP – that someone takes an estimated R7million from the cookie jar each month – starts to make sense when one stops to consider all of this.
Fortunately, the MKP plan, to secure as many drivers as possible for their members, was scuppered by due process as shall be any other skulduggery.
Opposition whippery in tatters:
KZN’s opposition whippery is in tatters. The MKP is not committed to assisting the Presiding Officer and Chief Whip to maintain the decorum of the House. We have witnessed this again during the course of the last week. That is not honourable conduct. It is precisely the opposite of what this House expects of every Member.
Democracy is not simply about winning elections. It is about submitting to the same rules. No member, no political party and no majority is above the rules of this House. We may disagree with a ruling, but that does not entitle us to defy it. We challenge rulings through the procedures of this Legislature – not through intimidation, disruption or disorder. The moment we choose which rules to obey, we cease to defend democracy and begin to undermine this institution itself.
Titles do not command respect – conduct does. The privilege of being called “Honourable” carries with it a duty to uphold the rules, protect the dignity of this House and strengthen our constitutional democracy. Anything less, diminishes this institution and the people we are elected to serve.
The DA, as a responsible partner within KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), remains steadfast in its commitment to building a capable, ethical and caring state in which the rule of law is supreme, accountability is non-negotiable and integrity is expected of every public representative.