The State of the Nation Address (Sona) was delayed for about 45 minutes when the EFF stuck to its plan to disrupt President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address that was meant to start at 7pm last night but after three stops and starts, only resumed at 7:54pm.
The National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula battled to keep the EFF members in check as they used their famous tactic of raising points of order to create confusion.
At some point, an exasperated Mapisa Nqakula had to declare that she won’t allow any more points of order from the floor.
The whole drama started when Vuyolwethu Zungula from the ATM was chucked out of the assembly for raising an ‘irrelevant point’ and not following the Speaker’s instructions.
Various members of the EFF including Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu were read the riot act and told to keep quiet and not raise any more ‘points of order’ to allow President Ramaphosa to proceed, but they couldn’t keep quiet.
Ramaphosa’s address was disrupted at least more than three times. It was embarrassing and quite comical for the President to start speaking only for the Speaker to interrupt him and ask him to sit down because of the howling at the back of the hall.
As soon as the Parliamentary security was called in, the Red Berets were kicked out and a group of them immediately jumped onto the stage where Ramaphosa was sitting.
Armed members of the police jump in to stand between the EFF members and the President.
Other EFF members on the floor hurled out placards and hoisted them with words that called for Ramaphosa to step down because of load shedding, joblessness and corruption among others.
As soon as all the EFF members were out and the president was about to start his address, then it was the turn of the DA’s John Steenhuizen to interrupt the proceedings by raising a point of order and said the security personnel violated Parliamentary rules by entering the National Assembly without first being summoned by the Speaker.
Steenhuizen also said that the security personnel were armed and posed a threat to Parliamentarians in violation of the rules and he wanted that on the record.
Mapisa Nqakula pleaded for the matter to be discussed after the Sona address as time was running out and explained that the EFF members became a threat to Ramaphosa when they jumped on stage.