National Assembly Speaker Frene Ginwala has, in get-tough language, suggested that former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni should resign as an MP for deliberately lying to parliament.

"It's an extremely serious offence - in other countries ministers have resigned over similar incidents," Ginwala told Independent Newspapers yesterday.

Ginwala, a high-ranking member of the ruling party, recalled that Yengeni had asked to make a statement to the national assembly on March 28 last year in which he lied to parliament. In his statement, Yengeni protested his innocence.

His conviction for fraud - for failing to declare to parliament the discount on his 4x4 - raised serious questions about how parliament would respond.

Ginwala said she was keen to hear parties' views "on what happens to a member who has told deliberate untruth" to parliament.

Yengeni had not asked to address parliament after his conviction, she noted. "If a member has deliberately misled parliament, then he must explain ... but Tony hasn't come forward after his guilty plea."

Ginwala, who is to address the assembly's rules committee on the matter this morning, is expected to "call parties to order" for opting to "make political mileage" out of Yengeni's guilty plea instead of taking concrete steps in the parliamentary system to deal with the issue.

Her comments came as parliament's joint ethics committee decided to postpone a crucial meeting, scheduled for tomorrow, on the Yengeni issue.

Meanwhile, the ANC has held off a decision on the future of its former chief whip. Officially, it will wait for Yengeni to be sentenced on March 19. ANC insiders say the party will be hard-pressed not to take firm action against Yengeni.

As they stand, the national assembly rules allow for nothing stronger than censure.

With acknowledgements to Jeremy Michaels, Andre Koopman and Cape Times.