WATCH: EFF on budget walkout

Cape Town - After holding up the start of Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba's maiden mini budget speech in Parliament on Wednesday for about 20 minutes, the EFF left the chamber. 

At a hastily-convened media conference outside, the EFF's Floyd Shivambu criticised the conduct of Speaker Baleka Mbete, saying her conduct was "unacceptable". 

Echoing what the party had said inside the chamber when it rose points of order, Shivambu said the EFF did not recognise Gigaba as a "legitimate minister". 

Mbete had told the EFF MP's that she was following Parliament's rules. "You will not disrupt the business of this afternoon. And if you insist on your behaviour, we shall have to ask you to leave us to proceed."

"We are not going to have Parliament today," said Shivambu at one point. After about five more minutes of back and forth arguments about the rules of the house, Shivambu and the EFF voluntarily left the chamber.

Speaking to journalists outside, he said:"He [Gigaba] is just going to allocate monies to the Guptas," he said. 

Gigaba's address continued without incident after the EFF left. 

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