Speaker Baleka Mbete and National Council of Provinces chair Thandi Modise should have taken much swifter action against the EFF and DA during the State of the Nation Address on Thursday. So says ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe‚ who accused the two of prolonging the mayhem in Parliament. Mantashe said the two presiding officers should have cut the chaos short. "All I said this week is that the presiding officers allowed it to go on too long. They should have cut it within 10 to 15 minutes and that’s it‚" he said. Mantashe threw the ball into the National Assembly’s court to deal with the conduct of opposition parties‚ saying it was not the responsibility of the ruling party. The EFF disrupted President Jacob Zuma’s atate of the nation address‚ resulting in the party being violently thrown out of the House. The DA also walked out‚ protesting that Zuma has broken his oath of office. Mantashe was speaking in Wembezi‚ KwaZulu-Natal‚ on Saturday. He was delivering the Oliver Tambo l...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
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.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.