Opposition parties bid to delay Sona rejected

The State of the Nation Address (Sona) will proceed as scheduled‚ despite requests by opposition parties for a postponement‚ parliament’s presiding officers said yesterday.

“We have absolutely no intention to approach any president to say ‘you must not come to the State of the Nation Address’.

“Whoever is president will .”

He said: “The ANC will decide on the president …parliament will not take that decision …we want to have the smoothest State of the Nation Address, in spite of the threats .”

Earlier this week‚ DA leader Mmusi Maimane said he had written to the speaker of the National Assembly‚ Baleka Mbete‚ requesting that the Sona be postponed until Zuma had been removed from office‚ and parliament was afforded an opportunity to elect a new president.

Maimane said the ANC now had two centres of power‚ each holding starkly differing policies‚ ideological positions and plans of action.

This‚ he said‚ had left the country not knowing which direction was being pursued.

“We cannot afford to waste public money for Jacob Zuma to deliver the government’s programme of action for the coming year in his State of the Nation Address‚ when it is not likely that he will remain the president of the republic much longer‚” said Maimane.

EFF leader Julius Malema also wrote to Mbete requesting that she schedule a motion of no-confidence in Zuma prior to the Sona.

“This is largely informed by the fact that there are serious political developments and court judgments which necessitate an urgent parliamentary sitting to entertain a motion of no-confidence against Mr Jacob Zuma‚” Malema wrote.

“The suitability of Mr Jacob Zuma to continue in the office of president is more of an urgent question now than a to be delivered by an incumbent who is on the verge of commissions and trials.

“Mr Jacob Zuma should not be allowed to deliver the prior to a decision on whether parliament still has confidence in him to continue as a president.”