Parliament – The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday said it was expecting answers from Parliament and the executive on what it called the "needless securitisation of the Parliamentary precinct" before President Jacob Zuma delivers his State of the Nation address (SONA) on Thursday.
"The opening of Parliament in the Zuma era has increasingly become associated with paranoia and over-the-top security measures. Indeed, the securitisation of the Parliamentary precinct seems to increase precisely as the credibility of the president diminishes," said DA chief whip John Steenhuisen.
Steenhuisen said he was also worried about possible restrictions on journalists on the day of SONA, including reports that journalists would be escorted and that they would not be able to move around the precinct freely.
"This unwarranted limitation means that accredited media will be unable to access a number of buildings on the parliamentary precinct on the day of SONA, including the Marks Building which houses opposition parties and some media organisations," said Steenhuisen.
"I will also raise this issue in the Chief Whip's Forum as media freedom cannot be trampled on vacuous 'security' grounds, especially at Parliament." Parliament on Monday dismissed the allegations that stricter security would be in place to restrict the movement of journalists covering the SONA.
"The Secretary to Parliament (STP), had made the commitment during a media briefing held on Thursday 2 February, that the same provisions of the previous years would apply in 2017, with even additional support to enable the media to comprehensively cover the SONA," the statement from Parliament said.
"Parliament has even improved the management of the Media Bay in the National Assembly, with the introduction of personalised tickets with seat allocations to avoid unauthorised occupation of limited space for about 60 media representatives, by people who are not media workers."
In previous years, journalists have been manhandled during scuffles between the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and parliamentary protection staff.