ALBERTON – Now I have never really considered MP’s to be a physical threat, quite the opposite actually, they are in my mind great debaters. I would however not feel scared if I ran into any one of them in a dark alley, except maybe Julius. He proved that he can throw his weight around, and as the recent footage of the altercation in a fast food outlet suggest – is willing to lay down a beat-down. But on the whole not a physically daunting bunch, so the need and use of police officers in full riot gear confuses me a little.
Over and above the fact that the cops being sent in to deal with the MPs, having more protective gear than the cops being sent into a service delivery protest where cars are being set alight and bricks are being thrown. What has emerged is a seemingly unlikely alliance between opposition parties. Even the EFF has stood on the side of the DA in regards to the president’s conduct in and out of parliament. This on its own has sparked great debate over the condition of democracy in South Africa and more so if the EFF and DA are now buddies, since having fought shoulder to shoulder as it were.
So here it is my view on the issue. Yes the DA and EFF have common ground on this issue; that’s because its such a blatant misuse of state funds and such and obvious cover up from the ruling party that anyone not acknowledging it is quite frankly an idiot. So yes, they are in agreement, but no, this does not mean that they are aligned, there is still a huge space between the policies of the DA and the rhetoric of the EFF.
So far the UDM, FF+, EFF, COPE, ACDP and AGANG have joined the DA in opposing the ANC on the Nkandla issue. Unfortunately the ANC still holds the majority and as such just voted them all out of order by accepting their report tabled before parliament no real surprise there, what is surprising and indeed exciting is that even though we may be worlds apart – the opposition parties have proved that they can put their differences aside and stand together against the almighty ruling party, this proves that we do in fact have a strong and healthy democracy.
