'Slippery Jake' no longer has a free pass in parliament

22 August 2014 - 02:25 By The Times Editorial
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It was bound to happen. The nation was spellbound yesterday when, for the first time in the history of our democratic parliament, the head of state was shouted at and told in no uncertain terms to answer questions put to him.

The tactics used by Julius Malema and his Economic Freedom Fighters to demand clear answers from President Jacob Zuma about when he would refund at least some of the taxpayers' money used to upgrade his Nkandla private home, as recommended by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, have become a big talking point.

What transpired in parliament yesterday raises points that the voters need to answer.

Should a head of state be subjected to such robustly expressed demands? Should a head of state be protected from answering uncomfortable questions?

Should the voice of the opposition be dismissed because of long-established conventions? Should our parliament be allowed to degenerate into chaos similar to that which we witnessed yesterday?

Should an opposition party be allowed to run riot as the EFF did?

The conduct of the EFF yesterday exposes widening gaps in our body politic. The ruling party, it seems, has not realised that the public mood is changing.

Many people no longer trust the president. All they see is a head of state who is always shirking responsibility.

We have become accustomed to the antics of a president who dances around questions, and of servile MPs hellbent on protecting him.

If our parliament is to earn respectability, our politicians will have to learn to be accountable to the public, not merely to an individual.

The behaviour of Malema and his crew yesterday was unparliamentary but the ANC must ask itself why there is such hostility to Zuma.

It seems that his "stall and obfuscate" strategy has passed its sell-by date.

The nation is no longer prepared to wait endlessly for answers to important issues.

Malema will hog the limelight for as long as Zuma fails to man up and take responsibility.

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