Zuma’s state of the nation address is nothing but farce and fisticuffs
Expect more state of the nation rough stuff in parliament if the ANC cannot summon the courage to replace President Jacob Zuma, writes Roger Southall
Let’s face it. Over the past three years the annual state of the nation address has become embarrassing. First, citizens tune into the usual punch-up between the EFF and parliamentary security. Then, with the light entertainment over, they have to sit through President Jacob Zuma droning his way through a speech, punctuated by giggles, that rarely offers little beyond what people already know. If they don’t want to suffer through interminable talking heads, they potter off to bed. Instead of being a dignified showpiece of South African democracy, it’s all become a bit ridiculous. There is certainly a bright side to the annual contretemps. The EFF, with the DA increasingly in hot pursuit, has chosen the opportunity to expose President Zuma for what he is. EFF MP Mbuyeseni Ndlozi summed him up nicely when he called him a "constitutional delinquent". The fundamental point that the EFF has been making, again and again, is that Zuma has been in breach of the constitution, that he is not ...
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