IN CONVERSATION WITH MATTHEW PARKS [COSATU PARLIAMENT COORDINATOR]
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The Congress of South African Trade Unions has strongly opposed the current composition of Parliament’s Impeachment Committee, which has been established to consider the Section 89 Report relating to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The committee was formed in line with a Constitutional Court directive requiring Parliament to establish a body to review the report. It is intended to include representation from all 18 political parties represented in the National Assembly.
COSATU argues that the decision to limit the committee to 31 members has resulted in an unfair distribution of representation. While the structure was designed to accommodate all parties, COSATU contends that it reduces the proportional representation of larger parties, particularly the African National Congress.
According to COSATU, the ANC having secured approximately 40% of seats in the 2024 national elections should be allocated around 12 members on the committee. Instead, it has been allocated 9 members, or about 30% representation.
COSATU views this as a deviation from the principle of proportional representation and argues that it undermines the will of voters as expressed in the most recent elections. The federation has described the arrangement as potentially unconstitutional and has suggested that it may be subject to legal challenge.
It has further urged Parliament to reconsider the structure of the committee to ensure that it accurately reflects electoral outcomes, even if this requires expanding the size of the committee to accommodate fair representation of all political parties.
The committee was formed in line with a Constitutional Court directive requiring Parliament to establish a body to review the report. It is intended to include representation from all 18 political parties represented in the National Assembly.
COSATU argues that the decision to limit the committee to 31 members has resulted in an unfair distribution of representation. While the structure was designed to accommodate all parties, COSATU contends that it reduces the proportional representation of larger parties, particularly the African National Congress.
According to COSATU, the ANC having secured approximately 40% of seats in the 2024 national elections should be allocated around 12 members on the committee. Instead, it has been allocated 9 members, or about 30% representation.
COSATU views this as a deviation from the principle of proportional representation and argues that it undermines the will of voters as expressed in the most recent elections. The federation has described the arrangement as potentially unconstitutional and has suggested that it may be subject to legal challenge.
It has further urged Parliament to reconsider the structure of the committee to ensure that it accurately reflects electoral outcomes, even if this requires expanding the size of the committee to accommodate fair representation of all political parties.
