S. African opposition presses for postponement of SONA until Zuma resigns

CAPE TOWN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) - The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday urged Parliament to postpone the annual State of the Nation Address (SONA) until President Jacob Zuma steps down.

Zuma is scheduled to deliver SONA in Parliament on February 8. But there have been calls for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to recall Zuma and deprive him of the right to deliver SONA.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane said he has written to Parliament Speaker Baleka Mbete, requesting that this year's SONA be postponed until Zuma has been removed from office and Parliament is afforded an opportunity to elect a new president.

SONA is an annual event in South Africa, in which the president reports on the status of the nation, normally to the resumption of a joint sitting of Parliament (the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces).

ANC officials have given conflicting remarks about the fate of Zuma, with some claiming that Zuma would be recalled before SONA and others rejecting the allegations.

The ANC's National Working Committee (NWC) reportedly has requested that Zuma be removed before SONA, but ANC's Deputy Secretary General Jessie Duarte has said Zuma is "going nowhere."

"It is no secret that there is a battle within the ANC and the national executive, with each side holding starkly differing policies, ideological positions and plans of action," Maimane said.

Since Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as ANC President in December, pressure has been mounting on Zuma to resign.

Zuma has been embroiled in a series of corruption scandals.

According to the new rules of Parliament adopted last year, Parliament is currently open for business, and does not require a SONA for the House and its committees to continue its work.

"Therefore the Speaker must act in the interests of all South Africans, and postpone the State of the Nation Address until the ANC leadership battle has been resolved," Maimane said.

South Africa spent more than 11 million rand (about one million U.S. dollars) for last year's SONA, according to Maimaine.

"We cannot afford to waste this amount of public money for Jacob Zuma to deliver the government's program of action for the coming year in his SONA, when it is not likely that he will remain the President of the Republic much longer," said Maimane.

The DA's call has won the support from other opposition parties.

Also on Wednesday, the Economic Freedom Fighters called for a motion of no confidence in Zuma to be debated on the day that Zuma is meant to deliver SONA.

Amid growing confusion over which direction the country is going, ANC Chairperson Gwede Mantashe said earlier this week that the party's top leadership would meet with Zuma to discuss "options" to avoid him being impeached or voted out in Parliament. Enditem