Residents want parties to work as 1

POLOKWANE – The State of the Nation Address (Sona) on February 12 was marred by controversy as numerous interruptions led to EFF members being escorted from parliament by armed forces on the orders of the speaker, Baleka Mbete.

Soon after, the DA also left the chamber en masse to protest the removal of the EFF members.

Review spoke to residents to find out how they felt about the chaos at this year’s Sona.

Wilson Mokgaphame said he was not happy with the way Mbete treated members of parliament.

“Her reaction was a one-sided affair. The Sona is for us, the whole nation, not just one political party. If the president answered the questions on the Nkandla issue in the first place, the whole incident at the Sona would never have happened. Straight talk is not rude. It seems our leaders forgot who put them there,” he said.

Naledzani Nethengwe agreed with Mokgaphame and said it was unbecoming for leaders to become involved in physical violence in parliament.

“You can talk about issues without fighting. Many communities are waiting for basic service delivery like electricity, water, schools and roads. That should be our leaders’ priority, not fighting with each other. Stop the fighting and work together to help the poor,” he said.

Diana Botha said she found the chaos at the Sona quite funny, but then realised that it was, in fact, a serious problem that needed to be addressed.

“When you look at this incident in perspective, you realise that it was uncalled for. We need answers for major problems like the electricity crisis that all South Africans have to deal with. This crisis has a serious impact on the economy and our leaders should address important issues like this one instead of fighting,” she said.

Jennifer Southern, on the other hand, said there was nothing funny about the scenes that played out at the Sona. She agreed with Nethengwe that South Africa’s poor should be parliament’s first priority.

“Our leaders have to open their eyes and see the poor and homeless children roaming our streets. Crime is a major problem that needs to be addressed too. People are tired of living in their houses as if they are in jail. Instead of battling each other in parliament, our leaders should work together to help the people of this country,” she said.

Salome Mamabolo also felt that the electricity problems in South Africa should be addressed urgently and agreed with Botha that this was South Africa’s main problem at the moment.

“I also think that our leaders should look at issues like education. Our children deserve a better quality of education. Members of parliament, no matter what party they support, should agree on two things; our electricity crisis must be sorted out and our education system must be upgraded.”