Shivambu arrived on the Sona red carpet amid widespread speculation the party will disrupt the event which signals the opening of Parliament. (David Harrison/M&G)
According to Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) deputy president Floyd Shivambu, the red berets will caucus at 6.30pm to decide whether or not they will disrupt President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address (Sona) scheduled for Thursday evening.
Shivambu arrived on the Sona red carpet amid widespread speculation the party will disrupt the event which signals the opening of Parliament.
The EFF has garnered a reputation for its dramatic interruptions of Sona proceedings, most notably when former president Jacob Zuma was still in power. The disruptions captured public attention for the way in which Parliament security, known as the “white shirts”, violently evicted MPs from the chambers.
As Ramaphosa readies to give his speech, the party has once again threatened to disrupt proceedings following media reports that the president received a R500 000 donation from Bosasa to support his election campaign for the ANC presidency in 2017. Ramaphosa confirmed the payment but claimed he was unaware of it at the time. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is now investigating whether Ramaphosa lied to Parliament about the funds.
Speaking on the red carpet, Shivambu said the EFF wrote to Ramaphosa about the Bosasa monies, and had yet to receive a response.
“We have written a letter to the president to ask him specific questions about Bosasa and he has not responded,” Shivambu said.
“We are going to have a caucus at 6.30pm to decide what to do with a president that is not being held accountable,” he added.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane, who is already inside Parliament, has said Ramaphosa should focus on jobs in his speech, because it is the “only discussion”.
Maimane has previously said that the DA would not support a disruption of Sona but his party does expect answers regarding evidence of corruption that has emerged at the commission of inquiry into state capture, including regarding Bosasa.