EFF hits out at new joint parliamentary rules, calls it 'ludicrous' & 'stupid'
The new joint rules of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces (NCOP) make it more difficult for MPs to disrupt the president during his address.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party leader Julius Malema protest on stage as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attempts to deliver his 2023 State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Cape Town City Hall in Cape Town on February 9, 2023. Picture: ESA ALEXANDER / AFP
CAPE TOWN - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has labelled new joint parliamentary rules to end disruptions during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) as "ludicrous" and "stupid".
On Tuesday, the party lost its court bid to have the joint rules suspended by the Western Cape High Court, which means they will be implemented for the first-time during Thursday's SONA.
The new joint rules of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces (NCOP) make it more difficult for MPs to disrupt the president during his address.
In her judgment, Western Cape High Court Judge Deidre Kusevitsky said she was of the view that the EFF failed to satisfy the requirements for the suspension of the rules on an urgent basis.
She said the courts "have reiterated the separation of powers" and how the three arms of state can’t usurp the power of another arm.
The judge also said the EFF also failed to make out an oral case in court for the suspension of the rules.
EFF national chairperson, Ntombovuyo Mente, said the rules were clearly designed to target the EFF.
"To say members of Parliament must not even breath on that particular day is ludicrous, is really stupid, to put it bluntly. We cannot be told, as members of Parliament, we come in, sit there and not say anything. That’s against the law."
She said that as MPs, they were also the voices of the party’s voters and preventing them from speaking during SONA suppressed that voice.