Tag: Sona

DA members arrested by riot police

DA spokesperson Marius Redelinghuys and Cape metro chairman Shaun August were arrested by riot police on Thursday ahead of the eighth state-of-the-nation address, the party said.

“These are people who wanted make their voices heard about the electricity crisis facing our nation, the DA said and called for their immediate release and that of the other supporters also arrested.

Riot police removed DA protesters from Adderley Street. “Water cannons were fired into the backs of supporters who posed no threat to the police and were trying to escape harm,” the party claimed.

Western Cape police said they were not in a position to comment on what happened in the Cape Town CBD, and on whether Redelinghuys was arrested or if police used a water cannon.

“At this stage we are not in a position to give a blow-by-blow account of what is happening in town,” Colonel Tembinkosi Kinana said.

“When we are in a position to give a statement and confirm all the details of what happened we will issue a statement, but at this stage we are not in a position to comment.”

Kinana said that, as was usually the case during the state-of-the-nation address, the number of police deployed was increased against disruptive elements.

High tea leads to mayhem in parliament

The MSM had been buzzing about their latest pompous American acronym, SONA, for weeks, but it seems that parliamentarians under the influence of High Tea, celebrated a rather classless opening of the once august institution.

Proceedings got off to a rocky start with MPs demanding to know why the cellphone signals were jammed in the National Assembly.

Last night eventually saw one parliamentarian with nearly all his clothes removed by a bouncer. A female EFF MP Reneilwe Mashabela’s jaw was broken in the fracas to impress democratic voters and she had to be admitted to a (private) hospital.

The Economic Freedom Fighters had warned that they would disrupt the proceedings with interjections about security upgrades to Zuma’s Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal, and they did not disappoint. The president hadn’t been on the podium for long when an EFF MP Godrich Gardee interrupted and chaos ensued.

Big Business had aquiesced to president Zuma’s request earlier to cut power usage to keep televisions on in every home, enabling all to stay abreast of the current political entertainment from Cape Town, home of parliament and drug capital of South Africa.

“The events that unfolded before our eyes were aimed at bringing our democracy into serious disrepute,” Minister in the ANC Presidency Jeff Radebe admitted to reporters.

Neither the Speaker Baleka Mbete nor ignominious pig farmer Thandi Modise would allow any questions. A group of armed police and private security guards were called in to spoil for a fight.

In a show of solidarity with the EFF, DA MPs, all clad in black, then resorted to more melodrama and left the chamber too. They theatrically claimed to be too hurt to listen to the state of the nation following the forceful removal of EFF MPs by either armed security personnel or police.

The EFF promised that they would bring weapons to parliament next time, timeslive reported. “We were obviously pushed around. Next time we will be armed,” EFF-deputy Floyd Shivambu said.

During his speech, Zuma announced that the government would train “fifteen thousand plumbers to fix leaking taps in townships” but nary a peep about illegal electricity connections, causing billions to leak from the state budget.

It seems that Shell’s shale gas project in the Karoo will go ahead, despite fierce opposition from almost everyone not on their kickback list.

FW de Klerk, who together with Nelson Mandela, made this all possible by handing over power to the ANC, also attended the special session, and to everyone’s great surprise, remarked: “South Africa is heading for constitutional crisis mode. I have never seen such a thing.”

Most adherents of political parties that had warned De Klerk of the impending doom, still languish in prison today as forgotten political prisoners, having never received amnesty from the equally farcical Thruth and Reconciliation Commission.

‘Zuma out of touch with reality’

Zuma would like to apply radical intervention in all the wrong places, say Afrikaner rights group

President Jacob Zuma is out of touch with the reality of South Africa, AfriForum said following the State of the Nation Address on Tuesday.

The speech Zuma gave was a series of agreeable promises, most of which could not be realised, said AfriForum spokesman Ernst Roets.

“It seems as if he would like to apply radical intervention in all the wrong places.”

Roets said areas that required radical intervention were ignored due to lack of understanding of the true scope of the issues the country faced.

The organisation said the president had failed to acknowledge the fact that farmers were being forced to abandon the sector due to violence.

It was unrealistic to expect the agricultural sector to create a million employment opportunities while farmers were regularly attacked.

“Unemployment indeed is one of the country’s most serious crises. the root of the problem actually is to be found in state interference.”

Roets suggested that youth unemployment should be tackled through the education department.

“The undertaking that the number of matriculants with exemption will be increased cannot be achieved unless education standards are lowered.”

The organisation claimed that no plan of action was provided to ensure the increase would be reached.

“The focus is on attaining numbers instead of improving on the quality of the education provided.”

AfriForum was also concerned that nothing much was said about high levels of crime in the country