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Leave the cake Koos!

Cape Town - South Africa's longest-serving MP, Koos van der Merwe, was ordered to leave the national assembly on Wednesday afternoon after he demanded a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki and accused his staff of being incompetent in dealing with his year-long request.

During discussion of the budget of the presidency on Wednesday, Van der Merwe, of the Inkatha Freedom Party, said part of the budget was R4.6m to be spent on overtime expenditure.

He asked how this was reasonable, given that he was now celebrating one year of "waiting to see the president".

Van der Merwe, first elected as an MP for the National Party in 1977, said he had been promised a meeting by the president a year ago and he had approached his parliamentary counsellor John "JJ" Jeffrey about it through five letters.

It is understood that Van der Merwe wanted to meet Mbeki about matters relating to the Afrikaner community, but he did not explain the details of the meeting he was seeking.

He said money was being paid to the staff of the presidency, but they had not done their duty.

Shouted for a meeting

Brandishing a box with a cake, he said to the minister in the presidency, Essop Pahad: "Here is your cake. Come and eat it. I have waited a year."

Deputy speaker Gwen Mahlangu ordered him to leave the house after the deputy African National Congress chief whip pointed out that Van der Merwe had been told to seek his meeting through Jeffrey.

Van der Merwe agreed that the president had appointed "Mr Jeffrey". He had sent him "five or six letters" asking for an appointment.

He then shouted: "Mr Jeffrey, I want to see the president!"

He was ordered out of the house by the deputy speaker - with his cake.

Democratic Alliance whip Mike Ellis asked for the cake: "Can we have the cake? We would like to eat it."

Van der Merwe handed him the cake box before leaving the house.

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