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Party leaders arrive for Ramaphosa meeting

Johannesburg - Political party leaders started arriving for a meeting with Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg early on Monday afternoon.

Ramaphosa, ANC Chief Whip Stone Sizani, EFF leader Julius Malema, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa, African People's Convention leader Themba Godi, and National Freedom Party secretary general Nhlanhla Makhanya had all arrived.

Before entering the venue in Parktown, Makhanya said he was hoping the meeting would come up with resolutions on how to take things forward.

"There is still a lot to be done in terms of our conduct," he said referring to MPs in Parliament.

"I see things coming back to normality... [we need to] broker a settlement so that the dignity of the House comes uppermost."

He said he had confidence in all the leaders at the meeting.

The meeting comes after a truce between political parties in Parliament fell apart last week.

On Tuesday, Ramaphosa struck a deal with opposition parties that disciplinary proceedings against the EFF would be held in abeyance in return for assurances that they would respect parliamentary rules.

A report by the powers and privileges committee was likely to result in various EFF MPs, including Malema, being suspended from Parliament for up to 30 days for contempt of Parliament. The charges arose from their heckling of Zuma about the Nkandla saga in August.

However, a day after the peace deal was brokered, Parliament again degenerated into insults and obscene gestures when the agreement between the ANC and the opposition fell apart.

Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday that the report of the powers and privileges committee was back on the agenda.

The move came in retaliation to the DA's insistence on proceeding with a motion accusing Zuma of ducking questions on the R246m security upgrades to his private homestead in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal.

On Thursday evening, the ANC abandoned the debate in the National Assembly on the report calling for the EFF MPs' suspension.

Ramaphosa issued a statement saying he remained open to further negotiations with political parties to restore calm to Parliament.

 

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