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The embattled speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has resigned.
In a letter to Parliament on Wednesday, she said that she was resigning from her position as the Speaker and as a member of the parliament.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she was going to dedicate her time and focus on dealing with the criminal charges that she is facing.
She added that her departure was not an admission of guilt.
The former Speaker said she decided to resign to uphold the integrity and sanctity of Parliament.
Her resignation came just after the High Court dismissed her urgent application for an interdict to prevent her pending arrest on criminal charges by the NPA’s Investigative Directorate.
The DA welcomed the resignation of the former Speaker from her position.
"We have long called for this resignation when the allegations of corruption and money laundering were levelled against her," said chief whip, Siviwe Gwarube.
"We believed, and we still believe, that anyone who holds this high office should be beyond reproach and it was clear to us that Ms Mapisa-Nqakula was simply not suited for it," she added.
Gwarube noted that the motion of no-confidence that she tabled against her last week and the complaints to the ethics committee will no longer go ahead.
However, she told Algoa FM News that the DA would still be pursuing the complaint against her related to a salary hike awarded to Xolile George, the secretary of Parliament, without informing parties.
The ANC also confirmed that it had received Mapisa-Nqakula's resignation letter.
The party said in her resignation, she highlighted her intention to protect the reputation of the ANC which she had served more than 30 years.
“We value her commitment to maintaining the image of our organization, as it reflects our principles of organizational renewal that promote proactive responsibility-taking among members, rather than waiting for instructions to step aside,” said secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula.
