DA calls again for National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete to step down
Criticising National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete for "atrocious rulings" and "extreme bias", the DA says she is unfit for the job and should go
The DA has reiterated its call for Baleka Mbete to step down as speaker of the National Assembly. Mbete has often clashed with opposition MPs, and some MPs say she is unfit for the position. On her watch, house sittings have often degenerated into chaos. In 2014, DA leader Mmusi Maimane wrote to the leader of government business, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, asking him to support a motion of no confidence in Mbete and that Parliament elect a new speaker. But efforts to remove Mbete have so far failed. Presenting the DA’s parliamentary review during a news conference in Parliament on Monday, DA chief whip John Steenhuisen said Mbete had constantly shown she "represents the interest of Luthuli house". "[She] has failed on numerous occasions to uphold her constitutional responsibilities as the speaker by showing extreme bias when presiding on the house. She defends and protects President (Jacob) Zuma at every opportunity. "She takes ANC points of order while ignoring those from th...
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