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Lechesa Tsenoli to act as National Assembly Speaker in Parliament during Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula's absence. (Jaco Marais/Netwerk24)
- The work of Parliament will not stop because of the absence of National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
- Mapisa-Nqakula took a special leave of absence on Thursday following allegations of corruption against her.
- Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli will act as National Assembly's speaker.
The work of the National Assembly (NA) will not be affected by the absence of Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Parliament said in a late-night statement on Saturday.
Mapisa-Nqakula is implicated in bribery allegations involving more than R2.3 million, which date back to her time as the defence minister.
On Thursday, she announced that she would take "special leave" from her role.
In Saturday's statement, Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the work of the National Assembly "remains unaffected", and it will continue to fulfil its constitutional obligations and its programmes while Mapisa-Nqakula attends to the allegations against her.
Mothapo announced that Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli would serve as acting speaker during Mapisa-Nqakula's leave of absence.
Mothapo said:
He will assume all functions, powers, and responsibilities vested in the speaker. The speaker has also formally notified the deputy speaker of her decision to take leave. In her communication, she has requested that he, in his capacity as acting speaker, formally inform the House of this development at its next sitting.
He added that, according to the rules of Parliament, when the speaker cannot perform her duties or has vacated the position, the deputy speaker takes over the reins.
News24 reported on Saturday that the DA's chief whip, Siviwe Gwarube, had raised the alarm about Mapisa-Nqakula's special leave, which cannot be unilaterally taken.
The rules of the NA do not make provision for "special leave" by a unilateral decision.
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Special leave is only granted by a full sitting of the House through a formal motion that is adopted in terms of rule 36(2) of the NA rules.
READ | Legal 'processes must unfold', says Ramaphosa in wake of Mapisa-Nqakula bribery allegations
However, in the statement, Mothapo said Mapisa-Nqakula's "special leave" is provided for in the rules of Parliament.
He said the rules state that "if a member's absence extends beyond 15 consecutive sittings of the House, a motion explaining the reason and duration of the absence must be introduced".
He continued:
Considering that the National Assembly has only three plenary sittings remaining before it adjourns at the end of March for the national and provincial elections on 29 May, the formal motion process will not be required in this instance.
Meanwhile, while on the ANC's campaign trail in Gqeberha, in the Eastern Cape on Saturday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the legal processes must unfold when it comes to investigating corruption against Mapisa-Nqakula.
He said the law enforcement officials should be "given space" to investigate the matter.
