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Cape Town - Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema promised on Thursday that the party “will get Zuma to come to the parliamentary committee to answer” for the Nkandla upgrades.
Speaking at a news conference after Thursday’s chaos in the National Assembly when party MPs refused to leave after being ordered out by Speaker Baleka Mbete, Malema said the party will “not make him [Zuma] forget”.
"We remember Guptagate. We know what happened there. We know what happened to Nkandla - where [Public Protector Thuli Madonsela] said he must pay back the money," Malema said.
Malema said Parliament must hold members of the executive accountable and said it had been “useless for 20 years”.
"How do we get a parliamentary system that holds the executive to account in a more efficient way? Not what's been happening since 1994," he said to reporters.
Malema said the party wants a meeting with the “leader of government business”.
EFF standing their ground
"They hide behind point of order. They hide behind 'the matter is in committee’," he said.
Members of the EFF earlier stood their ground and refused to leave Parliament after being ordered to do so by Mbete.
An hour after being ordered to leave the House, EFF MPs were still sitting in their benches chanting and singing.
Malema was not happy with Zuma's reply to a question about when he was going to "pay back" part of the money spent on the R246m security upgrades to his private Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal.
"I will throw you out of the house if you don't listen," Mbete shouted at EFF members, who responded by chanting "pay back the money".
Mbete eventually had to suspend proceedings and call in security to remove the EFF members.
While Zuma and MPs from other political parties left the chamber, EFF members remained, still chanting "pay back the money", and insisting they would not budge.
EFF chief Whip Floyd Shivambu shouted at Mbete: "You won't remove us."
EARLIER RT "@POWER987News: Riot police have arrived in parliament pic.twitter.com/WQaFKToN4x"
— James Styan (@jamesstyan) August 21, 2014
