Cape Town – In a day of day drama, accusations, counter-accusations and heated exchanges of words, President Cyril Ramaphosa was told that under his leadership the country has gone to the dogs.
Tuesday was the first day of the State of the Nation Address (Sona) debate after Ramaphosa delivered his Sona speech last Thursday, which was described by some opposition as lacklustre and hollow.
During last week’s sitting, the EFF was ejected by the Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, accusing them of being unruly.
SONA: ATM leader, Vuyo Zungula, who was ejected from the house last week has just finished his debate. He lamented what happened last week and the presence of security forces in chambers. He also told President Cyril Ramaphosa that they don't hate him when they speak the truth.
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) February 14, 2023
Also ejected from the house last week was Vuyo Zungula, the president of the African Transformation Movement (ATM).
Getting the platform to debate Ramaphosa’s speech on Tuesday, Zungula lamented what happened last week and the presence of armed security forces in the chambers.
“It cannot be that state institutions would be unleashed on MPs in order to silence and intimidate them.
“No self-respecting member of Parliament can condone what happened last Thursday. The country is in a big crisis, a crisis of leadership.
“In fact, the people in leadership positions do not have the political will to solve the problems faced by the country.
“The problems of load-shedding, the Post Office retrenching workers, and SOEs falling apart are self-created.
“We have a president that may have seriously violated the Constitution, may have seriously committed acts of misconduct, and life can’t go on as usual.
“As a president who disregards our constitutional duty to hold you accountable, where do you get the moral authority to come and present Sona to the very institution you do not believe can hold you accountable?
“We have a crisis of a president that will use every trick in the book to avoid accountability,” Zungula lashed out at Ramaphosa, who sat stone-faced in the house.
He also told Ramaphosa that they don’t hate him when they speak truth to power.
“Mr President, you have failed to lead South Africa to prosperity. Everything has gone from bad to worse under your leadership.
“In 2018, when you took over, the unemployment rate was 25.6 percent, now it is 33.9%.
“Forty-seven people were killed every day, now 72 people are killed daily. There was no load-shedding in 2018, now there is permanent load-shedding for the next two years.
“The petrol price was R13 and now it is R21. Tata, when we tell you that the situation of the country is bad, it is not because we hate you.
“When you don’t tell a person the truth, you are destroying that person. You need to ask yourself a question, what has changed for the better ever since you became the president of South Africa,’’ Zungula continued.
He signed off by telling the president that “the country is worse off” under his leadership.
“The best thing that can happen to the country right now is your resignation because you have failed.
“Your investment summits, task teams, commissions, creation of many ministries in the presidency – all to appear as if you are doing something – are not working.
“You took the intelligence to the presidency, yet there is an increase in mass murders, kidnapping and extortion.
“You have consolidated and created ministries in the presidency without any tangible results yet you expect us to be happy with the appointment of a minister of electricity.
“You need capable engineers to fix Eskom, not another ministry.
“When are the factories in QwaQwa, Hammanskraal and Gcuwa being revived to create meaningful jobs for our people and turn South Africa into a manufacturing hub?
“Stop celebrating the growing number of people who are dependent on grants, South Africans are able and they want to work.
“You can come here, president, and posture as much as you want, but the reality and the facts speak for themselves, the country is worse off under your leadership,” Zungula signed off.
Debating before Zungula and on behalf of the ANC, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube Ncube lavished Ramaphosa with praises for leading from the front during the floods of April last year that gutted the province.
“When we were hit by the devastation of the floods in KwaZulu-Natal, President Ramaphosa was the first on the ground to the rescue of KwaZulu-Natal.
“Never have we seen a president who is better and more adequately suited to the challenges of our time than President Ramaphosa.
“When Covid-19 hit in 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa led from the front. When the July unrest threatened to burn the province down, President Ramaphosa stood head and shoulders above the rest.
“I stand here on behalf of the people of our province to confirm that KwaZulu-Natal has rebounded and is recovering from the effects of the triple challenges.
“Almost all sectors of the economy are showing signs of a positive recovery,” she said.
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