Parliament censors the DA to protect Ramaphosa and the ANC from criticism

Today, in the lead-up to the President's State of the Nation speech in Parliament, the DA erected a banner outside a DA office in the parliamentary precinct that says: "Same State of No Action. Same WhatsApp group".

We are angered that, about an hour after the banner was erected, we were instructed by the Secretary of Parliament to remove it.

We will seek to determine on what grounds we were instructed to do this. We believe that it is our constitutional right to express our views on the State of No Action and this instruction is simply pure censorship.

The reality is that despite the promises that President Ramaphosa will make tonight, there will be no action. The President is incapable of taking action as he works for the ANC and not for the people of South Africa. He is directed by Luthuli House and he is in the same WhatsApp group as Jacob Zuma.

We will continue undeterred to expose President Ramaphosa's "New Dawn" for what it is - a scam. The lived experiences of ordinary people in our country remain unchanged at best and have indeed regressed over the past year.

How can the President provide "answers" to the tough challenges that our nation faces, while he is yet to answer about the R500 000 "donation" he received from Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson?

Parliament must be impartial and not act in favour of any political party. We will not be silenced and will continue to spread our message loud and clear: The ANC of Rampahosa is no different than Zuma's ANC. The organisation is merely the same broken bus being driven by a different driver.

South Africa needs change. Only the DA can build One South Africa for All.

Statement issued by Solly Malatsi MP, DA National Spokesperson, 7 February 2019