President Jacob Zuma took on the persona of a preacher and a teacher on Thursday as he replied to Wednesday’s debate on the presidency budget — preaching radical economic transformation from the African National Congress (ANC) bible.

Zuma said without the ownership patterns in the economy changing to include South Africa’s poor, the country could not claim to be free, adding that he loved talking about radical economic transformation like he talks from the bible.

“I talk about it all the time like a pastor talking to his bible every Sunday,” said Zuma.

“We want a kind of an economy that all South Africans benefit from, not others benefit more, others less and others not at all, especially the poor, the majority of women are African and female — what a gospel truth that is”.

Zuma appeared to just be preaching to ruling African National Congress MPs and some of the smaller opposition party MPs. The two biggest opposition parties, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters, boycotted Zuma’s reply the presidency budget.

Despite the empty benches, Zuma addressed some of his critics in the opposition. He even joked that DA MP David Maynier had become his friend because both of them love laughing, dancing and singing.

“Let us form a singing group. I can sing, he can dance.”

Turning to Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald who on Wednesday wanted Zuma to answer the question what white people are doing wrong.

Zuma’s reply on Thursday: “Fifty-eight percent of the positions in senior management are occupied by the white group, Africans 22.1 percent, Indians 10.6 percent, coloured 7.7 percent and foreign nationals 1.4 percent.”