President Jacob Zuma came under a lot of criticism from DA Parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane who repeatedly called him a ‘broken man who broke society’.
During the debate on the State of the Nation Address, Maimane said Pres Zuma broke Parliament when security personnel were organised to forcefully remove EFF MPs during the chaos that arose in Parliament on 12 February.
“You are willing to break this Parliament if it means escaping accountability for the wrongs you have done,” he said.
Although Maimane was pulling out punches on Pres Zuma – he remained calm and could only laugh.
“We need to become the nation that President Nelson Mandela helped us believe we could become. A place of hope, prosperity, selfless leadership and mutual respect.
“But in our hearts, we know what the problem is. We have allowed those in power to become bigger than our institutions, breaking them down bit by bit,” said Maimane.
“We have allowed one powerful man to get away with too much for too long. This man is here in our presence today,” he said.
Maimane also said, “Please understand, Honourable President, when I use the term ‘honourable’, I do it out of respect for the traditions and conventions of this August House. But please do not take it literally. For you, Honourable President, are not an honourable man.”
He stated that Zuma is a broken man, presiding over a broken society.
“Honourable President, we will never forgive you for what you have done.
”You laughed while trampling Madiba’s legacy – in the very week that we celebrated 25 years since his release,” said Maimane.
Maimane added that Zuma keeps promising jobs that do not materialise.
EFF leader Julius Malema also took a stand and said that the ANC Government has deviated from the Freedom Charter.
“The Freedom Charter states, ‘Land shall be shared among those who work it’. What we know is that the ANC has dismally failed to redistribute land and will continue to buy land from those who stole it,” said Malema.
