DA, EFF call for Sona postponement until Zuma removed from office
DA leader Mmusi Maimane says it will be in the best interests of South Africans if President Zuma does not deliver the State of the Nation Address.
FILE: President Jacob Zuma delivers his State of the Nation Address on 9 February 2017 in Parliament. Picture: AFP
JOHANNESBURG - Both the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) want the upcoming State of the Nation Address (Sona) postponed.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane has written to the National Assembly Speaker requesting that the event be moved until President Jacob Zuma is removed from office and Parliament elects a new head of state.
"I have written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, requesting that this year’s State of the Nation Address, scheduled for next Thursday 8 February, be postponed until Jacob Zuma has been removed from office, and Parliament is afforded an opportunity to elect a new president," a statement reads.
Maimane says it will be in the best interests of South Africans if Zuma does not deliver the Sona.
"Last year’s State of the Nation Address cost over R11 million. We cannot afford to waste this amount of public money for Jacob Zuma to deliver the government’s programme of action for the coming year in his Sona, when it is not likely that he will remain the president of the republic much longer."
The address is set to take place next Thursday.
Parliament has yet to respond to the request.
(Edited by Shimoney Regter)