Parliament - President Jacob Zuma on Thursday insisted South Africa was not a deteriorating state under his rule as he was taken to task over, among others, comments he made on the Marikana massacre in June, and the forced removal of Economic Freedom Fighters MPs from Parliament during his state-of-the-nation address in February.
During his question-and-answer session in the National Assembly, EFF MP Hlengiwe Maxon quizzed Zuma about comments he made in June defending the actions of police officers.
“The police were stopping the further killing because 10 people had died. I was explaining that point,” Zuma said.
“With regard to how the members of the EFF were taken out of Parliament forcefully, really I was standing here. I did not take any decision of that matter, so you can’t blame me for that.”
Zuma dismissed criticism that these incidents were proof South Africa was becoming a police state under his rule.
“The country has not gone down. The country is moving ahead. It’s developing. It’s fine, so it’s not true that the country… is going down,” Zuma said as opposition party MPs heckled him.
“The country is being governed very responsibly.”
ANA