The National Assembly, provincial legislatures and municipal councils derive their legislative authority from different chapters of the constitution of the Republic.

There is no single section in the constitution that makes any provision for heckling and howling in parliament; and I believe this despicable behaviour that adds no value to the lives of our people is often motivated by the presence of live television cameras.

For some of our presumably public representatives, the State of the Nation Address (Sona) provides them with an excellent opportunity to trend on social media. It is no longer about we - the people of South Africa.

As long as we still have councillors, members of provincial legislatures and parliament who think they are doing the rest of us a favour by being there, then we have a long way to go. We should not expect any miracles from any of the political parties represented in parliament, until our flawed electoral system is finally changed.

Some politicians believe they are exclusively being paid to heckle and disrupt as part of the circus we often see on our television screens. They forget that their monthly salaries and benefits are being paid by ordinary South Africans through various tax regimes.