Today during a session of the North West Legislature, the FF Plus strongly objected to the obstructive actions of the Speaker, Susan Dantjie, and her apparent inability to properly manage her Office and Legislature sessions.
The meeting was chaotic right from the start due to various technical problems and flaws in procedures.
Even after numerous requests, from the FF Plus among others, to temporarily adjourn the meeting so that the problems could be resolved, the Speaker simply refused and the chaos continued.
Various Members of the Legislature could not effectively participate in the virtual meeting and members of the public were also excluded. The ability to participate and public access to Legislature meetings are two things that the relevant legislation and rules of order are explicit on. The FF Plus, therefore, decided to withdraw from the meeting.
It is totally unacceptable that chaos erupted in an important session, where the reallocation of the funds assigned to the North West should have been discussed, due to the actions of the Speaker and her Office.
This kind of conduct not only undermines the ability of democratically elected Members of the Legislature to fulfil an oversight role, but also the Legislature's own credibility in a province that is already facing enormous challenges.
The FF Plus will take all relevant legal and procedural steps to ensure that the Legislature's credibility and the legitimacy of legislative processes in the North West are protected.
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