The Northern Cape Legislature says it is not anticipating any disruptions during the first sitting of the seventh administration on Friday. At least five parties are expected to be in the chambers for the swearing in of new members, the election and nomination of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and the Premier.
The voting for the three positions is expected to happen through a secret ballot.
The secretary of the hung Northern Cape Legislature says they are expecting all 30 members from various political parties to take their seats for the seventh legislative term.
Fifteen of the seats belong to the African National Congress (ANC), four seats to the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), seven seats to the Democratic Alliance (DA), three seats to the Patriotic Alliance (PA) and one seat to the Freedom Front Plus. The secretary of the legislature says they are ready for any eventuality.
“We do have internal security in the legislature that would be responsible for the doors and everything. But we are not expecting any security breaches, or you know any actions. Yes, if anything happens, we’ll be ready,” says Legislature Secreatry Patrick Moopelwa.
With the ANC having the same seats as the opposition, the legislature will be guided by the constitution should there be a tie on who should be the Speaker, Deputy Speaker or Premier.
“If you go to schedule two of the constitution, it indicates the process that we need to follow if there is a tie. So, if anything happens, we might have to suspend the sitting for about seven days. You know if we are having equal votes, but we are hoping that members or the parties would have spoken, you know, to each other so that we have a very, very progressive, you know, sitting,” Moopelwa explains.
Northern Cape Judge President Pule Tlaletsi is expected to oversee the sitting. The doors of the legislature would be opened to at least 150 people including the public.
The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) in the Northern Cape says it is not focussed on occupying leadership positions as it continues to hold talks with other political parties.
The party says its aim is to prevent the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) coalition at national level.
The FF+ has one seat in the provincial legislature.
The party’s provincial leader Wynand Boshoff says, “Freedom Front Plus has a negotiation team, which liaises with other parties on the national level, with the main objective of preventing an ANC, MK coalition and not on bargaining for positions, but looking at ways to promote the ideal that we stand for, the better dispensation that we think South Africa deserves and which will liberate different nationalities within this multinational state of South Africa.”
VIDEO: FF+ leader, Dr Pieter Groenewald reacts to the elections:
Gender-Based Violence and Femicide activists in Kimberley in the Northern Cape are cautioning political parties against trivialising and using GBVF as a means to garner votes. Ahead of the 2024 provincial and national elections, political parties are promising to take measures to fight the scourge through various means. These include empowering the police and changing how the justice system deals with perpetrators of GBVF.
Violence against women and children remains a challenge in the country, with everyone seeking solutions to curtail it.
The governing African National Congress (ANC) has promised to expand victim support services, like the Thuthuzela Centres and GBV desks in police stations, among others. The Democratic Alliance (DA) says if it gets elected, it will embark on training staff at police stations for GBV-specific services, so that victims receive justice while their dignity is maintained.
However, activists want more.
“If anyone can say, we are attaching a time frame to what we have already said then I can maybe take that person on and say okay you have done this and we will be expecting an answer or accountability in three months or three days. But everyone is saying it for the hype, nothing serious about it,” says GBV activist Poppy Thebe.
In their manifesto, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says it will strengthen and resource forensic laboratories for the provision of quicker and more efficient DNA testing for GBVF crimes.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) promises to revisit legislation to ensure that bail is denied to perpetrators of violence against women and children, particularly murder. The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) says the parole system also needs serious revision, particularly when it comes to protecting victims.
GBVF Activist, Hebert Muller says she hasn’t seen the political parties support GBVF survivors.
“What is happening on the ground, you will not see them coming down to the people to the victims and support them. Sometimes they can speak big about Gender-Based Violence but to execute their promises, it is not showing on the ground.”
Hebziba Counselling And Healing Centre Founder, Charmaine Ramasedi says she is not convinced.
“It did not sound convincing for me, it did not sound genuine for me. It’s like they just do it because the nation is doing it because they are mentioning it but we don’t see the actual work. So for me, it’s not genuine and I think even those who are mentioning it, it’s for votes.”
Crime Statistics show that in South Africa, more than 8 000 women and more than 200 children were killed between July and September last year.
The women and men who work closely with survivors and victims of violence against women and children say they will be monitoring closely whether political parties will, in fact, keep their promises.
Northern Cape women call for more action against GBV and femicide:
