South Africans across the political spectrum are expected to be glued to their television screens today as the State of the Nation Address (Sona) debate takes place in parliament.
The joint sitting to debate President Jacob Zuma’s Sona is an annual event that affords opposition parties and ruling party MP’s an opportunity to deliberate on the president’s speech.
The debate, which is scheduled to start at 2pm today and continue tomorrow, will be followed by an official reply from Zuma on Thursday, also starting at 2pm.
The sitting comes after last week’s Sona chaos that saw Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MPs being removed from the National Assembly, while DA MPs staged a walkout.
And moments before Zuma could deliver his address, DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane, raised a point of order demanding the speaker switch off an alleged network signal jamming device that caused a stir among MPs and reporters present.
But International Relations Minister and ANC MP Maite Nkoana Mashabane said the network cut was a “technical glitch”.
The DA has since called for Mbete to step down and is expected to table a motion of no-confidence in her.
The party has also written to Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to request an urgent inquiry into the matter.
The Julius Malema-led EFF has promised it will continue to ask Zuma “when will he be paying back the money?”
EFF national spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, said the EFF was unapologetic about its “legitimate demand” for Zuma to answer their question.
“ about ‘when is he going to pay back the money’ unduly spent at his compound in Nkandla. No amount of conspiracy theories, intimidation, usage of violence or threats of assassination will deter us from holding this corrupt ANC government accountable,” Ndlozi said.
The parliament’s multiparty chief whips’ forum was scheduled to meet yesterday afternoon.
However, it was not clear if EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu attended the meeting.
Mbete has come in for criticism this week for referring to Malema as a “cockroach” while addressing an ANC provincial conference in North West.
“The country cannot afford to have the speaker of the National Assembly who incites violence against members of parliament, both inside and outside parliament,” Ndlozi said. — siphem@dispatch.co.za
SA braced for more controversy ahead of today’s Sona debate
The joint sitting to debate President Jacob Zuma’s Sona is an annual event that affords opposition parties and ruling party MP’s an opportunity to deliberate on the president’s speech.
The debate, which is scheduled to start at 2pm today and continue tomorrow, will be followed by an official reply from Zuma on Thursday, also starting at 2pm.
The sitting comes after last week’s Sona chaos that saw Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MPs being removed from the National Assembly, while DA MPs staged a walkout.
And moments before Zuma could deliver his address, DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane, raised a point of order demanding the speaker switch off an alleged network signal jamming device that caused a stir among MPs and reporters present.
But International Relations Minister and ANC MP Maite Nkoana Mashabane said the network cut was a “technical glitch”.
The DA has since called for Mbete to step down and is expected to table a motion of no-confidence in her.
The party has also written to Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to request an urgent inquiry into the matter.
The Julius Malema-led EFF has promised it will continue to ask Zuma “when will he be paying back the money?”
EFF national spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, said the EFF was unapologetic about its “legitimate demand” for Zuma to answer their question.
“ about ‘when is he going to pay back the money’ unduly spent at his compound in Nkandla. No amount of conspiracy theories, intimidation, usage of violence or threats of assassination will deter us from holding this corrupt ANC government accountable,” Ndlozi said.
The parliament’s multiparty chief whips’ forum was scheduled to meet yesterday afternoon.
However, it was not clear if EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu attended the meeting.
Mbete has come in for criticism this week for referring to Malema as a “cockroach” while addressing an ANC provincial conference in North West.
“The country cannot afford to have the speaker of the National Assembly who incites violence against members of parliament, both inside and outside parliament,” Ndlozi said. — siphem@dispatch.co.za
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