EFF parliamentary caucus will not attend Cyril Ramaphosa’s question and answer session in the National Assembly

5 September 2023

The Economic Freedom Fighters' (EFF) parliamentary caucus will not attend Cyril Ramaphosa's question and answer session, scheduled for Tuesday, 5 September 2023 in the National Assembly. In this session, Ramaphosa, whom the EFF deems a "money launderer and a constitutional delinquent," is set to respond to questions.

The EFF has long declared that Ramaphosa has failed to lead South Africa effectively.

All spheres of South African society are in a state of decline due to his absence of leadership. The economy, public health, and education, as well as policing and the state of the public transport system, demonstrate a clear absence of leadership. The levels of unemployment have reached crisis proportions with no practical and credible plan to address any of these societal problems.

The continuing deterioration of state-owned companies further underscores Ramaphosa's ineffective leadership. Transnet recently reported a staggering profit loss of R5 billion. Similarly, Eskom, a critical entity for the nation's power supply, announced stage 5 and 6 load-shedding within just hours. Minister Jamnandas Gordhan appears to treat his ministerial role as a part-time job, casually approaching his responsibilities as the nation faces an economic crisis.

The levels of violent crime have increased dramatically since Ramaphosa assumed the presidency, with a noticeable uptick in cash-in-transit heists, assaults, murder, and sexual crimes. Alarmingly, even mass shootings in places of public gathering have increased markedly. This is particularly concerning given that Ramaphosa has placed intelligence within the purview of the Office of the Presidency.

Ramaphosa has surrounded himself with mediocrity, displaying no appreciation or understanding of the state of South Africa to realize that urgent interventions are needed. Instead, he and his administration go around blaming apartheid for their own incompetence and lack of political and ideological commitment to solve South Africa's impending crisis.

The EFF maintains that Ramaphosa has lost all right to be granted an audience in Parliament, as he offers no viable solutions to the challenges confronting our society today. To sit in the House and listen to Ramaphosa mislead our people would lend credibility and legitimacy to incompetence, failure, and corruption.

Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 5 September 2023