Parliament will not have riot police on stand-by in the national assembly when the president delivers his State of the Nation Address.
President Jacob Zuma delivers his address on Thursday evening.
Last year, riot police were called into the national assembly when chaos erupted during a late-night debate.
Opposition parties have accused the ANC-majority parliament of protecting Zuma as he apparently refuses to answer questions in parliament.
National Council of Provinces chairperson, Thandi Modise, says "this is simply not the case".
"The long term preperations and the capacitation of Parliament's protection services is there. Is it geared, as the media is saying, toward protecting one man on the 12th of February, categorically we say no," Modise said.
However, she did say that the Powers and Privileges Act does empower parliament to call the police into the House if the need arises.
"We are hoping the need does not arise for us to use that provision of the Powers and Privileges Act, therefore we are hoping that we will not have to call on any police to come to Parliament on the day of the State of the Nation adress.
Meanwhile, political analyst Daniel Silke said South Africans should not hold their breath for the President's State of the Nation Address.
He said the energy crisis is just one of many issues weighing heavily on South Africans.
"The best that he can probably do in fact is to talk very directly and personally to South Africans, almost to put down his prepared notes and text and look South Africans in the eye, acknowledge South Africans frustrations and insecurities on service delivery, on Eskom, on creeping racism and xenophobia and I think be a lot more personal with South Africans. He's never really succeeded with that in the past. I'm not holding my breath but there's always the hope that he can pull a trick out of his bag," Silke said.
