Parliament issues caution after Malema threatens to disrupt Sona if ‘Pravin’ is not fired

On Monday, parliament’s presiding officers cautioned against the disruption of parliament’s work.

This after Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, at a rally in the North West town of Schweizer Reneke ahead of a by-election in the Mamusa municipality on Wednesday, threatened to disrupt February’s state of the nation address (Sona) if President Cyril Ramaphosa did not fire Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan.

The Sona is scheduled for February 13.

The presiding officers of Parliament, led by National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise and National Council of Provinces Chairperson Amos Masondo, on Monday cautioned against members of parliament (MPs) making public threats to disrupt the business of parliament. They said such threats were irresponsible and showed a lack of understanding for one’s duty to the public.

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“While the presiding officers would not lose any sleep over such threats as there exists [an] appropriate mechanism to ensure that no disruption takes place, they find such perennial threats ahead of key parliamentary programmes objectionable and an unnecessary distraction to the institution’s commitments to South Africans.

“The complex challenges confronting our country requires capable public representatives who endeavour to strengthen parliament’s constitutional function of fearless oversight over the executive, not impede its work.”

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