MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

DA seeks urgent meeting with Speaker over Zuma’s militarisation of SONA 2017

By

Dear MyPE

The DA condemns, in the strongest terms possible, the militarisation of this year’s State of the Nation Address by President Jacob Zuma. (See: Outrage as SANDF to assist with ‘law and order’ at Opening of Parliament)

The President this evening announced that members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) have been deployed in cooperation with the South African Police Service to maintain “law and order” at the SONA.

This announcement is deeply concerning. President Zuma’s deliberate use of the words “law and order” in his statement points to an excessive use of the army outside of their ceremonial role in the annual fanfare of the opening.

I will accordingly seek an urgent meeting with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, as the Head of the Legislative arm of the State, over this worrying development and seek a definitive response on behalf of Parliament that this sort of conduct will not be tolerated by the executive.

This move by the President should be seen in the context of his recent desperate attempts to ensure that he is protected from the criticism his Presidency is deserving of, including his latest stunt of addressing an ANC rally at the grand-parade immediately after the SONA.

No doubt the President hopes to use the SANDF as free security protection for his private party commitments on the day.

The DA will not stand by and allow for the “people’s parliament” to be turned into a security-state show of force, meant to intimidate opposition both inside and outside of the ANC.

Our message to President Zuma tonight is clear: no number of SANDF soldiers will deter us from holding you accountable in Parliament this week, or any other day of the year. We will not be intimidated.

Regards

John Steenhuisen MP
Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance

The following two tabs change content below.

Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.