Voters, help get shameful House in order

THE POOR debate quality, the lack of decorum and the name-calling in the National Assembly is an embarrassing feature of South African politics.

EFF leader Julius Malema on Tuesday told a joint sitting of Parliament that President Cyril Ramaphosa was known to have beaten his late wife, Nomazizi Mtshotshisa.

Malema made the allegation in the debate on Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona), after ANC MP Boy Mamabolo accused him of abusing his wife, Mantwa.

Mamabolo said: “You are abusing your wife… Members of the EFF know about it. Can you confirm to us, are you abusing your wife?”

For a country going through so much, politically and economically, we cannot have the people entrusted with the responsibility of fixing the country behaving in such an irresponsible manner.

The abuse of women in our country is a serious problem.

For politicians to trivialise such an important social problem for cheap political point-scoring, is irresponsible and careless.

Economically, companies are shutting down, jobs are being lost every day and unemployment is at an alltime high. We would expect politicians representing their parties in Parliament to be engaging in constructive policy debates designed to pull us out of the economic free-fall.

As voters, it is time we raise the bar on what we expect from those who represent us.

If not, our Parliament will continue to be a platform for the anarchy and chaos it has become of late.