Newly appointed Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie said he was excited President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech during the opening of Parliament address. File picture: Ayanda Ndamane/ Independent Newspapers
Newly appointed Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, expressed excitement about President Cyril Ramaphosa's speech during the Opening of Parliament Address. He praised Ramaphosa's pragmatic and futuristic approach to the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the potential for South Africa to look like a construction site. When asked about the GNU's longevity, McKenzie said it would last, despite Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema's remarks that it would only last a year or a maximum of two years.
McKenzie also criticized Ramaphosa's speech as a waste of state resources and useless. He argued that the GNU has a civil of resolving issues and where they differ, they reach consensus. He gave an example about his stance regarding foreigners and urged them to leave if it was up to him.
Malema, however, was unimpressed with Ramaphosa's speech and described it as a waste of state resources and useless. He criticized the President's lack of plan to transform South Africa for the better, not including international relations, the judiciary, or the land. Malema also took a swipe at the positions held by white members of parliament and accused Ramaphosa of being a sell-out by implementing the GNU.
Malema gave the GNU government a year to collapse, stating that if it doesn't collapse within a year, it will not go beyond two years. He hoped that a progressive government would come, transform the land and nationalize the banks.
