Brace yourself for parly chaos, Cyril

It all seemed so simple and, seemingly, cleared up the confusion.

National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete announced that President Jacob Zuma would be delivering next week’s State of the Nation (Sona) speech at parliament in Cape Town.

Mbete then went on to sow confusion: Jacob Zuma remained head of state (and the person who delivers the Sona) and would do so unless parliament “is told otherwise”.

Those last three words leave open the intriguing possibility that Sona might be delivered by ANC President and head of state in waiting Cyril Ramaphosa.

It is known that Ramaphosa and his supporters within the ANC have been trying to get Zuma to step aside gracefully ever since Ramaphosa won the fight for the top spot in the ANC in December last year.

The opposition EFF and DA have been leading the charge to get the Sona event postponed or to have Zuma impeached before it happens.

Undoubtedly, should Zuma step up to the podium next Thursday, all hell will break loose among the ranks of the EFF at least, and possibly there will also be a DA walkout.

None of that would be good for the image of the country, which is in the process of being repaired by Ramaphosa.

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