Speech on the report of the Powers and Privileges Committee on allegations of conduct constituting contempt of Parliament by Mr M J Zwane, MP
Speech by S N Swart MP

Issued by the ACDP Parliamentary Media Office

Contempt of Parliament is a serious offence and must not be tolerated

Feb 29, 2024

House Chair,

The ACDP agrees with the report. Honourable Zwane was found guilty in the first disciplinary hearing on a breech of the Code of Conduct by the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests, and its report was accepted by this House.

But, as we now know, Hon. Zwane failed inexplicably to apologise. And this then clearly shows a great lack of respect for Parliament across the board. This does not just involve one party, the majority party, it involves Parliament across the board.

This necessitated a further inquiry at the cost and time of members which was, again, unnecessary. This then allowed for evidence, and we now know of a guilty finding by that committee.

The ACDP supports the penalty — the order to apologise. We agree that the original order must be enforced. So, we support this as well as a reduction of half of the monthly remuneration of the member.

Hopefully this sanction will serve as a deterrent to other MPs that contempt of Parliament is a very serious offence. It should also serve as a lesson for incoming Members of Parliament that we as Parliament will not tolerate indiscipline or contempt of this House.

I thank you.

ACDP supports the Public Sector Pension and Related Payments Bill

ACDP supports the Public Sector Pension and Related Payments Bill

Chairperson, The ACDP supports the Public Sector and Related Payments Bill. It is largely administrative in nature and  relates to public sector-related pensions, including military veterans' pensions going way back — you can even see in the schedule that it refers to...

ACDP commends G7 for their support for the security of Israel

ACDP commends G7 for their support for the security of Israel

The ACDP disagrees with the position of the South African government that released media statements condemning Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. For decades, the Iranian regime has made it very clear for all the world to know that their ultimate goal is to...

Professor William Gumede commended for exposing the truth about BEE

Professor William Gumede commended for exposing the truth about BEE

Chairperson, The ACDP would like to commend one of our country’s most respected governance scholars, Professor William Gumede, for his courage and love for truth and transparency. He exposed what many feared to do. He stated the fact that over R1 trillion has been...