President Jacob Zuma has criticised opposition MPs for “traumatising” the nation and treating Parliament like a beer hall after they interrupted his state of the nation address last week.

Responding to the debate on the state of the nation address on Thursday‚ Zuma promptly referred to last week’s pandemonium in Parliament and appealed to MPs to use “democratic mechanisms” instead of “using chaos”.

“Some MPs have decided to treat this house [Parliament] like something worse than a beer hall. The conduct we saw here traumatised millions… including a 12 year old imbongi [praise singer]‚” said Zuma‚ amid heckling by some opposition MPs.

DA MPs were heard shouting “like you treat the Constitution” after Zuma’s beer hall reference.

Last Thursday‚ the president was subjected to a barrage of insults and attacks by opposition parties‚ particularly the EFF‚ who delayed his state of the nation speech for more than an hour‚ labelling him illegitimate and a thief who had broken his oath of office.

After raising numerous points of orders‚ EFF MPs were eventually forcibly removed from the National Assembly by Parliament protection services‚ as the house descended into chaos.

Speaking at The New Age breakfast on Friday‚ Zuma said if he were “an ordinary citizen” he would call for the permanent removal of the EFF from Parliament. The party constantly undermined the majority‚ he said.- TMG Digital/BusinessLIVE