THE Speaker of Parliament's National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, must do more to protect the dignity of Parliament.
Freedom Plus leader Dr Pieter Groenewald said that even if this meant that members found guilty of misconduct would be heavily fined and even forfeit their salaries.
Groenewald said this in response to EFF's request to remove Mapisa-Nqakula from her position.
The motion was brought by the leader of the EFF, Julius Malema, following an order during the 2023 State of the Nation Address (Sona) for the EFF members to leave the Chamber. This was after having disregarded the speaker's instruction not to raise "frivolous" points of order.
Members of EFF instead stormed toward the podium and the speaker asked the security personnel to remove them.
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Groenewald said it was important to understand that the Presidential Protection Unit was not only tasked with protecting Cyril Ramaphosa, but the elected president of the country.
"The incident on Thursday, 9 February, when members of the EFF stormed the NA's stage, posed a direct threat to the president."
He said that parliamentary rules allow for certain bully tactics and that the speaker must ensure that they are amended.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly, during its plenary session at the Cape Town City Hall on Wednesday, 22 March, rejected the motion to remove the Speaker from office in terms of section 52(4) of the Constitution and National Assembly Rule 28.
Parliament spokesman Moloto Mothapo said: "234 members of the National Assembly voted against the motion to remove the Speaker, and upheld Parliament's position that the Speaker acted in accordance with the provisions of the Joint Rules of Parliament. Only 42 voted in support of the motion, while 73 abstained."
