Political parties have welcomed the resignation of Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula saying it was long overdue, and this has protected the integrity of Parliament.
They said Mapisa-Nqakula should have resigned when the law enforcement agencies wanted to arrest her and when she went to court to seek an interdict.
However, the fact that she has finally agreed to resign showed that no-one was above the law and she must now face charges in court.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the Democratic Alliance (DA) and ActionSA said the law must now take its course.
IFP national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said Mapisa-Nqakula will focus her energies on her case.
“This is a responsible decision by Mapisa-Nqakula as it allows her to focus on her legal matters without dragging Parliament along any further,” said Hlengwa.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said they welcome the decision by Mapisa-Nqakula to resign as speaker.
He said they were concerned that both President Cyril Ramaphosa and her party, the African National Congress (ANC) had waited for so long before she could resign.
He said they hope the National Prosecuting Authority will now focus on the prosecution of the former speaker.
Good Party Secretary-General Brett Herron said it welcomed the resignation of Mapisa-Nqakula. However, he said it was unclear whether the former speaker was pushed or resigned of her own volition.
“While we don’t know if Mapisa-Nqakula was pushed by her party, or voluntarily walked the plank, parliament’s integrity has been spared the spectacle of an unedifying debate on a motion of no confidence,” said Herron.
DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube said the resignation of Mapisa-Nqakula would mean the motion of no confidence would fall away and her complaint to the Ethics Committee would also be dropped as she was no longer a member of Parliament.
But they still want the law to take its course.
“We believe that anyone who holds this high office should be beyond reproach; and Mapisa-Nqakula is not suited for it,” said Gwarube.
She said no-one was above the law and Mapisa-Nqakula was not suited for the office of the speaker.
They would not have allowed the reputation of parliament to be damaged by her allegations.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
IOL Politics