Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said the party would not be addressed in Parliament by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The President is expected to deliver the 2023 State of the Nation Address (SONA) from the makeshift Parliament, Cape Town City Hall, at 19:00 on Thursday, 9 February.
MALEMA’S STANCE ON SONA 2023
SABC News reported Malema was speaking at the EFF’s first Gauteng Provincial Plenum of the Third Provincial People’s Assembly on Saturday.
Malema, who promised to bring the country to a standstill in March over Ramaphosa’s removal from office and the ongoing electricity crisis, said the EFF would show the President “what they are made of” on the day of the SONA.
“Ka di 9 February, we are going to show him what we are made of there in parliament, we will never be addressed by a constitutional delinquent, we will be there and we are going to take him head on and that is our relationship with him from now onwards,” said Malema.
READ: EFF to lead a national shutdown in March
LOAD SHEDDING CRISIS, PHALA PHALA SCANDAL HANGS OVER THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS
Ramaphos will deliver the SONA to a joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament – the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces – on 9 February, and political parties will debate the speech between 14 and 15 February. Ramaphosa will reply the following day.
“In the address, President Cyril Ramaphosa will set out government’s key policy objectives and deliverables for the year ahead, flag challenges and outline interventions to unlock our nation’s potential,” said the Presidency.
Ramaphosa’s address comes at a tumultuous time for the country, and there is no end in sight to load shedding and the ongoing electricity crisis.
The President was reportedly on the verge of resigning at the end of 2022 over the Phala Phala scandal when the Section 89 Independent Panel found that there was prima facie evidence he violated his oath of office. His allies in the governing party managed to persuade him to change his mind and later averted his potential impeachment.
The EFF said Ramaphosa “should never find peace for having violated the Constitution.” Malema added that while the courts “protect him”, there will be no such protection for the President in Parliament.
“We will be there and we are going to take him head-on.”
