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Parliament Secretary protected by House rules

Gengezi Mgidlana
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Suspended Secretary to Parliament, Gengezi Mgidlana, has successfully challenged National Assembly Rule 88 to be allowed a right of reply to aspersions cast on him by a Member of Parliament (MP) during a debate.

His argument was considered by the Powers and Privileges Committee which will now instruct that Mgidlana’s reply be published in the daily Parliamentary publication.

Mgidlana was referred to as a corrupt person by Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) Chief Whip Floyd Shivambu during a debate on the Appropriations Bill in May last year.

African National Congress (ANC) Member of the Committee Juli Killian says Mgidlana was appointed through both Houses of Parliament, and therefore Rule 88 also protects him if serious allegations are made without a substantive motion.

“If you read Rule 88 – he has a leg to stand on, because it says no member may reflect upon the competence or integrity of a judge of a Superior Court, the holder of a public office in a State Institution Supporting Constitutional Democracy in section 194 of the Constitution, or any the holder of any other office other than the member of the government whose removal from such office is dependent upon a decision of the House. So the point is, he was appointed by a decision of the House, and he can be removed by the decision of the House. So I think that is what he is relying on,” says Killian.

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