COSATU wants Parliament to crack whip on errant new MPs
COSATU's parliamentary coordinator, Matthew Parks, said at least four MPs have already fallen foul of ethical behaviour before they’ve even received their first pay cheques.
Picture: @ParliamentofRSA/X
CAPE TOWN - The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) wants Parliament to crack the whip on errant new members.
Its parliamentary coordinator, Matthew Parks, said at least four members of Parliament (MPs) had already fallen foul of ethical behaviour before receiving their first pay cheques.
The first of those is Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Renaldo Gouws, who has faced backlash over a hate speech video rant that resurfaced when he became a parliamentary member.
The Electoral Court has also made findings against new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party MP Visvin Reddy.
Reddy has been handed a hefty fine for inciting violence in the run-up to the May elections.
Similar to Gouws, there’s also been an outcry against the MK Party’s Andile Mngxitama for an old hate speech case that the Equality Court ruled on in 2022.
Despite facing criminal charges for corruption, the African National Congress (ANC)’s former Minister of Sport Zizi Kodwa made his return as a backbencher in Parliament.
Parks said it’s ordinary workers who’ve paid the price for the collapse of ethics shown by MPs in the past.
“South Africa has experienced the devastating consequences of Parliament turning a blind eye towards rascals of dubious moral standing, masquerading as public representatives and being allowed to run amok in the legislature, government, and society.”
Parks also cautioned Parliament against endorsing the nomination of impeached Judge John Hlophe to sit on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The matter was withdrawn from the plenary agenda on Tuesday to allow for more consultation, but the MK Party said it won't change its mind about Hlophe’s nomination.