On Tuesday afternoon in Cape Town’s National Assembly, a Member of Parliament (MP) from the Democratic Alliance (DA) made an unfortunate Freudian slip.
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Darren Bergman appears to have gotten tongue-tied during the Presidency budget debate, saying ‘robust, vigilant apartheid’ before quickly correcting himself and saying ‘robust, vigilant Parliament.’
‘Fellow members, honourable president… it is about time that we roll up our sleeves. The myriad of issues plaguing South Africa are pressing and they require our urgent attention. With an inclusive, accountable executive and a robust, vigilant apartheid…’ he said before correcting himself, this time with the correct ‘Parliament’.
His ‘apartheid’ gaffe elicited jeers and howls from MPs in the audience, and a visibly embarrassed Bergman quickly concluded his speech before leaving the podium.
As he walked away, someone, most likely an MP, could be heard saying ‘ya ke o bone‘ (I saw you, which means ‘I have seen your true colours’).
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Bergman, a DA MP since 2014, was speaking during a debate on the Presidency budget, which President Cyril Ramaphosa had presented earlier. He is a member of the Presidency’s Portfolio Committee for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.
In another light-hearted moment in the National Assembly, before Ramaphosa took the podium, he was seen interacting with his political opponents.
The president was photographed laughing and chatting with Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party parliamentary leader John Hlophe, and former President Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla.
Malema accused Ramaphosa of being an apartheid collaborator last week, citing no evidence, after the president delivered his Opening of Parliament Address. This led to Ramaphosa implying that the EFF leader was politically illiterate, particularly in terms of pre-1994 issues.
On Tuesday morning, just minutes before Ramaphosa delivered the Presidency budget address, Zuma-Sambudla called the president a ‘sellout’ in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The most striking interaction was Ramaphosa’s with former Western Cape Judge President Hlophe.
Ramaphosa formally removed Hlophe as a judge in March of this year, after MPs voted to impeach him. This followed the Judicial Service Commission’s finding of gross misconduct for Hlophe attempting to sway Constitutional Court justices in a Zuma-related case.
The president’s action resulted in Hlophe losing the title of ‘judge’ as well as related benefits such as a lifetime salary.
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Picture: Darren Bergman / Facebook