President Jacob Zuma on Thursday night was subjected to a barrage of insults and attacks by opposition parties who delayed his state of the nation address for more than an hour, labelling him as illegitimate and a thief who had broken his oath of office. Zuma, when he was eventually able to speak, outlined what he called "a new chapter in radical economic transformation", which included a range of policies from land to black economic empowerment and the setting-aside of a portion of government procurement for black and small business.Apart from an intervention from chief whip Jackson Mthembu, who reminded the house that a motion to remove Zuma had been previously defeated, the ANC benches did little to come to his defence. EFF members were violently removed by parliamentary security officers, while the DA and most members of the Congress of the People left after being ordered to do so by the presiding officers. After more than an hour of mayhem in the house Zuma eventually delivered...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.