Parliaments presiding officers today held a media briefing dealing with issues that happened during the State of the Nation address. Issues under discussion were the behaviour of the Economic Freedom Fighters and the jamming of the signal during the SONA.
Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete labelled
the disruptions in Parliament last Thursday as disturbing.
Mbete says the media was never the target
in terms of preparations for the SONA and the jamming of the signal. She added that she was aware of a certain
device that would be installed in the house as a security message but did not
know of the full details of the device.
“Parliament does not own any equipment to
scramble the signal, so therefore an investigation into the matter is
inconclusive” Mbete added.
Meanwhile over the weekend Mbete called EFF
Leader Julius Malema as a cockroach and Deputy Speaker of the National Council
of Provinces Raseriti Johannes Tau said they will comment on this matter as the
speaker was speaking at the congress as a member of the African National
Congress, therefore the ANC will comment in due course.
In a statement the president officers
stated that “our democracy was tested but our institution stood its
ground. Our democracy triumphed, the
disruptions failed”.
As a way forward parliament will be meeting
with political parties to discuss issues of their concerns. A dialogue with members of parliament will be
held on the electoral system and how a proportional representation system
should function to strengthen democracy and Constitution.
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