ANC replaces Gigaba, but a promised post sparks another dispute
CAPE TOWN — Malusi Gigaba has been removed again as co-chairperson of Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence, but the vacancy went to another ANC MP despite the DA arguing that the position had been promised to it.
The committee elected Mzimasi Hala on Friday with four votes, defeating the DA’s Chris Hattingh, who received two. The EFF abstained and said it would raise its objections with the National Council of Provinces chairperson.
DA MP Emma Powell told the meeting that an understanding reached when the seventh Parliament was established entitled her party to one of the committee’s two co-chairpersonships under the Government of National Unity arrangements. The vote nevertheless kept the National Assembly position in ANC hands.
Friday’s proceedings followed a failed attempt to replace Gigaba in September. Hala had been elected then, but National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza found that the process had not been handled correctly and directed that the previous arrangement remain in place pending proper procedure.
At the time, Didiza said her office had received neither formal communication from the ANC about Gigaba’s change in committee status nor a resignation letter from him. Opposition MPs had questioned how a replacement could be elected without a properly established vacancy.
The EFF challenged that process despite having previously demanded Gigaba’s removal. Its position was that opposition to his continued leadership did not allow Parliament to disregard its own rules.
The committee reconvened on Friday to complete the replacement process. While Hala secured the position again, Powell’s objection introduced a separate dispute over whether the outcome honoured the governing parties’ earlier understanding.
The ANC had not explained its reasons when it initially announced Gigaba’s removal in September. The latest report does not establish a further explanation from the party or include a response from Gigaba to Friday’s decision.
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