Ex Public Protector Thuli Madonsela Says Some Members of Parliament Don't Understand What a Point of Order Is

• Thuli Madonsela, the former Public Protector has weighed in on the conduct of South African politicians in Parliament
• Taking to social media, Madonsela stated that Members of Parliament should be fined if they disrupt processes
• Some South Africans are in agreement with the former Public Protector and say she should offer MPs a definition of a point of order

JOHANNESBURG - Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has taken swipes at South African politicians and their misunderstanding of certain Parliament processes.

Taking to social media, Madonsela stated that she had been watching Parliament on Thursday, 9 June and realised that South African public representatives have no clue what a point of order is. She added that from her observation, politicians should be fined for speaking out of turn and that would ensure that Parliament's decorum is upheld.

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Part of her post read:

“Watching parliament right now has convinced me a lot of public representatives have no clue what a point of order is."

Madonesela's dig at Members of Parliament comes after the Economic Freedom Fighters' MP disrupted President Cyril Ramaphosa's budget vote speech which was delayed by multiple points of orders being raised.

In a formal debate or meeting, a point of order is a question about whether proper procedure is being followed, according to TimesLIVE. MPs raise a point of order when they want to bring attention to a particular issue such as the violation of certain regulations.

Parliament was in disarray on Thursday which resulted in Speaker of National Assembly Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula kicking out EFF MPs and even muting EFF deputy president Floyd Shivamabu, who hurled insults at Ramaphosa while attending Parliament virtually.

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South Africans weigh in

Some South Africans agree with Madonsela's assessment of SA politicians while others are off the opinion that she is biased because she did not say anything when the EFF used these tactics during Jacob Zuma's reign.

Here are some comments:

@VusiHGumbi said:

"Where was this energy when the same treatment was given to former President Jacob Zuma? Le bora gampe lona

@KMokgaga said:

"Please send them a google/Wikipedia link explaining what is a point of order‍♂️"

@nhlareks said:

"They actually know, these actions are intentional and are undertaken to achieve an objective…it worked for the EFF before, there’s absolutely no way they will abort these tactics when it works so well for the party."

EFF’s Julius Malema pushes for Parliament to move from Cape Town to Tshwane to make it accessible to all

In other news, Briefly News previously reported that EFF leader Julius Malema is pushing forward with plans to introduce the Relocation of Parliament Bill in the coming weeks, which, if passed, will see Parliament relocated to Tshwane.

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The EFF has for a long time advocated for the relocation of the National Assembly to the City of Tshwane, the administrative capital and seat of Government, which Malema argues should be merged.

Business Insider reports that an explanatory memorandum for a private member's Bill was published by Malema last Friday. This is the formal starting point for the process, which allows an MP to bring any legislation before Parliament for consideration.

Source: Briefly News