Cape Town - Former Western Cape legislature speaker Masizole Mnqasela’s lawyers said he intends to launch a court application today challenging the DA’s termination of his membership.
Mnqasela’s attorneys have written to the DA’s attorney and said this could jeopardise the institutional stability of the legislature if it goes ahead with the nomination and election of a new speaker.
In the letter, which the Cape Argus has seen a copy of, the attorneys say they hope to launch the court application today. The lawyers proposed a hearing to be set for next Tuesday, December 14.
Meanwhile, although no date or time for the election of a new speaker for the provincial legislature has been set yet, the announcement of a vacancy in the office has officially been made, and the process is under way to contact Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to assist with the election of a new speaker.
The next step constitutionally is that the chief justice will be invited to designate a judge to preside over the election of a speaker.
The judge will then confirm the rules applicable to the election of a speaker and only then will the date and time for the election of a speaker be communicated by the legislature’s secretary to members.
Deputy speaker Beverley Schäfer (DA) presided over Monday morning’s session where leader of the provincial opposition Cameron Dugmore (ANC) insisted on the issue being debated.
Despite Dugmore’s eagerness to have issues around the motion, such as whether there may be a legal challenge against the legislature clarified, Schäfer was firm that before the matter could be discussed in the House the correct procedures had to be strictly followed.
“First, in terms of process, you need to request precedence. We can't discuss anything while (the motion) is below the line (on the order paper). So if you want this above the line, you need to request that to me now on the record.”
Eventually after all the necessary steps had been followed, the issue came up for debate with Dugmore launching a scathing attack on Premier Alan Winde, whom he blamed for everything that has happened so far with Mnqasela.
Mnqasela was suspended from all party activities in May following allegations of fraud and corruption, relating to subsistence, travel and entertainment allowance claims he had made.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za