Johannesburg - The EFF caucus in Parliament confirmed it would not attend the State of the Nation Debate session scheduled for this afternoon, in which President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to reply.
The party accused Ramaphosa of failing to lead South Africa in all aspects.
"The EFF has long declared that Ramaphosa has failed to lead South Africa in all respects, and this was illustrated lucidly during the submissions of the leadership of the EFF during the debate. All spheres of South African society are in a state of degeneration under his mis-leadership, with the economy, public healthcare, the public schooling system, and railway network all in a state of collapse. Unemployment is at high levels, and the nation is in perpetual darkness because of the deliberate, man-made rolling electricity blackouts," said EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo.
The party said the levels of violent crime had drastically increased since Ramaphosa became president, with an increase in cash-in-transit heists, assaults, murders, and sexual crimes.
"Alarmingly, even mass shootings in places of public gathering have increased markedly, and this is all while Ramaphosa has placed intelligence in the office of the presidency.
"It is Ramaphosa who has taken his own Parliament to court because of his determination to cover up the crimes of money laundering, tax evasion, kidnapping, torture, and bribery that were committed at and in relation to Phala Phala Farm. By taking Parliament to court, Ramaphosa has taken the people of South Africa to court for trying to execute accountability," Thambo said.
He said it’s EFF’s view that Ramaphosa has lost the right to be granted an audience in Parliament.
"There is nothing he has to offer in terms of resolving the problems confronting our society. To grant Ramaphosa an audience would give credence and legitimacy to incompetence, failure, and corruption and would constitute the ultimate betrayal of our people," he said.
Thambo said the party reiterated the call for all South Africans to join the picket lines on March 20, 2023, to demand a stable supply of electricity and the resignation of Ramaphosa as president of South Africa.
"It is time we unite as a nation and remove the puppet of imperialism, whose sole purpose is to entrench the misery and poverty of our people," Thambo said.
The Star