FF Plus reaction to president Zuma's State of the Nation Address
President Zuma missed the opportunity to give hope for the future with his State of the Nation Address. The SONA was uninspiring and a repeat of the old well-known business without any new initiatives.
With regards to foreign investors, the president is giving mixed messages and is then surprised when investors move their interests from South Africa to Nigeria and the rest of Africa. The one moment he begs investors at Davos to come invest in South Africa. The next moment he says in the SONA that foreigners are not allowed to own any land in SA.
The ceiling that will be placed on land ownership, does not resolve any problems, but only shows how little understanding the ANC has for modern developed agriculture. This proposal will not secure the favour of the EFF, but will definitely increase agricultural uncertainty and cause greater food insecurity.
The FF Plus seriously objected to the blocking of cellular phone signals during points of order. It is a serious interference in freedom of speech. That is why the FF Plus had successfully demanded that the signal be unblocked and clarity should be given about who had given orders for this to be done.
With regards to the chaos surrounding the EFF, the FF Plus believes that the Police under the authority of the executive are not allowed to act in Parliament as the legislative authority. At this time, it is unclear whether the people who had entered Parliament in plain clothes and took action against the EFF had acted on the authority of the Speaker or the Executive. That is why the FF Plus did not leave the Assembly at that point. After all, total chaos cannot be tolerated in Parliament. Parliament needs a parliamentary protection service to prevent disorder. The FF Plus has been asking for it since the occurrence of problems in Parliament last year.
The ANC's corruption and incompetence does not justify the contempt of the rules and law and order.
Statement issued by Dr. Pieter Mulder, FF Plus leader, February 13 2015
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
