National assembly speaker, Baleka Mbete, cut her working visit to Bangladesh short to address the media on requests she received to urgently convene a sitting to process yet another proposal for a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma.
Amanda Khoza, News24
National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete (Parliament TV)
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Johannesburg – National assembly speaker, Baleka Mbete, on Sunday cut her working visit to Bangladesh short to address the media on requests she has received to urgently convene a sitting to process, yet another proposal for a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma.
In a statement, Mbete said she’s returned from Bangladesh, where she was leading a multiparty delegation of the South African Parliament to the Assembly of the International Parliamentary Unions (IPU).
« I had to cut my participation [short] in the light of the recent developments, which have thrust the Constitutional role of Parliament into the matter, » she said.
« These developments include the speaker of the national assembly being cited as a respondent in the matter between the official opposition and the president of the republic at the Western Cape High Court, in which the official opposition sought to interdict the swearing-in of new members of the executive.
« The Court was, among others, asked to compel Parliament to urgently schedule a motion of no confidence in the president. No finding was made against the speaker in respect of the relief sought by the official opposition.  »
She was referring to President Jacob Zuma’s much anticipated cabinet reshuffle which saw the axing of Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas.
Mbete said on March 30, her office received a request from a leader of the opposition for a motion of no confidence in Zuma to be scheduled.
The letter, she said, indicated that the motion be scheduled when parliament reconvenes.
« Later on the same day, a similar request was received from the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). The letter made a further request for the national assembly to be convened for a special sitting in the week of 3 April to debate and vote on a similar motion.  »
Constituency responsibilities
She said on March 31, her office received another letter, again from the official opposition, requesting that the national assembly resume its business earlier to process the motion.
Mbete said the procedure for processing a motion of no confidence, which is a right members of parliament enjoy in line with the oversight function of Parliament, is stipulated in the rules of the national assembly.
She said any such request needed to be assessed to ascertain if it is compliant with the appropriate rules.
There also needed to be consultation with the chief whip of the majority party and the leader of government business, who is the deputy president of the republic.
She said the motion would then need to be scheduled within a reasonable time given the progamme of the assembly.
Mbete said national assembly members were currently undertaking their constituency responsibilities across the country and were scheduled to return to parliament from the beginning of May.
Consultation process
The consultation process prescribed by the rules is meant to deal with these issues.
« Given the seriousness inherent in the motions of confidence and their implications on the nation, I have, therefore, decided to cut [short] my working trip to Bangladesh to ensure that these requests are given the appropriate consideration.  »
She said in terms of the Constitution and in terms of the clarification provided by the Constitutional Court in the Mazibuko vs Sisulu matter, as and when a motion of this magnitude is called and is in line with the rules, it must be scheduled and must receive priority.
« I will, therefore, as of today, begin a process of consultation contemplated in the rules in the consideration of the requests submitted. I envisage that the consultation should be concluded as soon as possible.  »
She said once the consultation process was concluded, her office would write to all the parties involved to advise them of the outcome.
On the question of what procedure would be followed in an event a motion of no confidence is agreed to by the House, she said the Constitution clearly stipulated what would happen should a motion of no confidence be carried in sections 86, 88 and 90.
« I must stress that I am alive to the extreme challenges and sense of anxiety our young democracy is going through at this moment. Our people are looking to parliament to play its part and exercise its constitutional responsibilities.
« South Africans are expecting our institutions of democracy such as parliament to demonstrate decisive leadership. This is a responsibility that parliament, for its part, does not take lightly. I, therefore, assure South Africans that this legislative arm of the State must and will rise to the occasion.  »
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The taskmaster toddler of « Boss Baby » has dethroned Disney’s « Beauty and the Beast » at the box office with a $49 million debut.
The taskmaster toddler of « The Boss Baby » dethroned Disney’s « Beauty and the Beast » at the box office with a $49 million debut, handing its star Alec Baldwin what President Donald Trump might call a « huge » no. 1 opening.
Paramount Pictures suffered another flop with its controversy-plagued « Ghost in the Shell.  »
The DreamWorks Animation release from 20th Century Fox, starring Baldwin as a suit-clad baby, narrowly edged out the previous two-week leader, according to studio estimates Sunday. The live-action « Beauty and the Beast » took in $48 million in its third weekend. Final North American ticket sales will be released Monday.
« We expected a decent opening. We didn’t expect to be number one, » said Chris Aronson, Fox distribution chief.
Despite the popularity of « Beauty and the Beast » (nearly $400 million domestically in 17 days, and $876.3 million globally), « Boss Baby » was able to attract its own family audience.
Aronson credited that partly to the appeal of Baldwin, whose impression of Donald Trump on « Saturday Night Live » has lately been ubiquitous. « Boss Baby » also evokes Baldwin’s old « Glengarry Glen Ross » character with quips like « Cookies are for closers.  »
« Alec Baldwin’s voice is recognizable, in general. But he’s so topical now because of some of the other things he’s doing right now, » Aronson said. « It’s a very distinctive voice, and if you put it on a baby, it’s funny.  »
« Ghost in the Shell, » a remake of a classic 1995 Japanese anime film, couldn’t compete with either family-friendly release. The dystopian science-fiction thriller, starring Scarlett Johansson, opened with just $19 million, a poor showing for a film that cost about $110 million to make.
Many took issue with the casting of Johansson as the cyborg protagonist who was Japanese in the original, calling it another example of Hollywood « whitewashing.  »
« We had hopes for better results domestically. I think the conversation regarding casting impacted the reviews, » said Kyle Davies, domestic distribution chief for Paramount. « You’ve got a movie that is very important to the fanboys since it’s based on a Japanese anime movie. So you’re always trying to thread that needle between honoring the source material and make a movie for a mass audience. That’s challenging, but clearly the reviews didn’t help.  »
Audiences appeared to agree with critics, giving the film a mediocre B CinemaScore.
« Ghost in the Shell » will instead hope to find more eager moviegoers in Japan (where the casting controversy has not resonated) and China next weekend. Opening in most other countries this weekend, « Ghosts in the Shell » took in a modest $40.1 million.
Paramount has recently suffered a string of box-office disappointments. Last week, Viacom Inc. hired former Fox film head Jim Gianopulos to turn around its film division.
In limited release, Focus Features’ « The Zookeeper’s Wife, » starring Jessica Chastain, opened well with $3.3 million at 541 locations. Based on Diane Ackerman’s non-fiction book, the film is about a woman’s efforts to save Jews during the Holocaust. It will expand next weekend.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U. S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. « The Boss Baby, » $49 million ($36.5 million international).
2. « Beauty and the Beast, » $48 million. ($67 million international).
3. « Ghost in the Shell, » $19 million ($40.1 million international).
4. « Power Rangers, » $14.5 million ($8.1 million international).
5. « Kong: Skull Island, » $8.8 million ($34.6 million international).
6. « Logan, » $6.2 million ($5.2 million international).
7. « Get Out, » $5.8 million ($2.3 million international).
8. « Life, » $5.6 million ($6.3 million international).
9. « Chips, » $4.1 million ($1.4 million international).
10. « The Zookeeper’s Wife, » $3.4 million.
___
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U. S. and Canada), according to comScore:
1. « Beauty and the Beast, » $67 million.
2. « Ghost in the Shell, » $40.1 million.
3. « The Boss Baby, » $36.5 million.
4. « Kong: Skull Island, » $34.6 million.
5. « The Devotion Of Suspect X, » $22.2 million.
6. « Smurfs: The Lost Village, » $15.1 million.
7. « Extraordinary Mission, » $8.2 million.
8. « Power Rangers, » $8.1 million.
9. « Life, » $6.3 million.
10. « The Missing, » $6.2 million.

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