Opposition Gets Four Seconds In JHB Council 3
There’s nothing I hate more in politics than pettiness. And this report from the Johannesburg City Council is a prime example.
As a result of a ruling approved by the ANC’s 136 councillors last week, the amount of time each party is allowed on the floor of the chamber will be proportional to their amount of elected representatives.
The smallest parties such as the IFP will therefore only be allowed to speak for four seconds while even the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), which has 59 councillors, can only speak for two-and-a-half minutes.
I think the ANC councillors knew exactly that when they passed this ruling. Of course with the size of the ANC majority in the council it wouldn’t have mattered if the opposition parties were given unlimited time on the floor, the outcome would have been the same.
The ANC’s new speech recommendation included four seconds’ speaking time for: the Azanian People’s Organisation, the Christian Democratic Party, the Christian Front, independent councillors, Operation Khanyisa Movement, United Democratic Movement, and the Freedom Front Plus. Eight seconds were allowed for: the African Christian Democratic Party, 16 seconds for the Independent Democrats, and 28 seconds speaking time for the Inkatha Freedom Party.
The resolution passed by the council ensures that opposition parties will collectively have only 4 minutes to speak while the ANC will have 11 minutes.
Quote by the ANC’s Chief Whip in the council, Bafana Sithole: “If a party cannot say what they want in eight seconds it is not worth saying.”
I. Object. Most. Strenuously. (My 4 seconds’ worth!)
If I were an opposition politician my four seconds would be a bit more… colourful.
This is a deeply worrying development to me. It clearly indicates a significant lack of respect for democratic values by the ANC. This is largely brought about by the lack of accountability that the ANC has to the electorate because no matter what they do and no matter how incompetently they govern, for the time being, the electorate will continue to vote for them.