The State of the Nation Address at the start of each Parliamentary year is meant to be a joyous occasion, reviewing the state of the country and its government and setting the tone for the year ahead.
Sona 2015 however must go down in the annuls of history as a travesty, and demands that we truly take stock of our democracy and what we want of a future South Africa that this generation’s children will inhabit.
The first travesty was the blocking of cellphone signals into and out of the National Assembly.
A leadership gripped with paranoia at the thought of a president being interrupted by a rowdy and uncouth red brigade clearly attempted to gag the media during the proceedings.
Why a government would resort to such levels is beyond me.
The [alleged jamming device] was located upstairs, closest to the media gallery.
The coming months will surely see a debate of the decisions taken leading up to this crisis.
It is a serious moment in the life of our democracy.
The DA, EFF and Freedom Front rose immediately and Mmusi Maimane called for the session to be suspended until the device was turned off, which it eventually was.
The second significant feature of this year’s Sona was the attempt by the EFF to demand an answer from the President
on the question of repaying the costs of his Nkandla homestead.
After initially attempting to defer the questions for a later date, the joint chairs (the Speaker and the Chairperson of the National Council of the Provinces), demanded that the various EFF MPs be removed.
First by the Sergeant-at-arms and then, apparently, plain clothed security personnel.
This represented the second occasion that police had entered the chamber.
All EFF MPs were then forcefully removed, leading to several injuries and the destruction of some parliamentary benches.
Finally the DA demanded to know if the plain-clothed security personnel were police or military officers.
The joint chairs declined to give a clear answer and the DA staged a walkout followed by other parties.
Sona 2015 leaves many unanswered questions and in my own mind, a deep-seated concern for the state of politics in South
Africa.
If we cannot find ways to express our concerns, as MPs, and get reasonable replies to serious questions from the cabinet and the President, then we will be descending another rung on the ladder towards chaos or despotism.
I trust that we will solve this dilemma much before the State of the Nation debate next year!
Ian Ollis oversees the DA’s demarcated Sandton-Alex Constituency which includes wards 90 and 117 in the Rosebank Killarney Gazette’s distribution area.
