Pretoria - Cape Town is ready to host the State of the Nation Address (Sona) by President Cyril Ramaphosa amid threats by the EFF to disrupt it tomorrow.
Yesterday, presiding officers of Parliament announced that all was set for the occasion, and a number of dignitaries such as former president Thabo Mbeki; former speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete; Chief Justice Raymond Zondo; Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya; and 15 other judges were expected to grace the occasion.
Also invited is Pan African Parliament President, Senator Chief Fortune Charumbira; Speaker of Azerbaijan, Sahiba Gafarova, in her capacity as the chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Forum; and mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis.
National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo said the City of Cape Town had handed the City Hall over to Parliament on February 1 to enable the necessary arrangements to convert the area into a precinct suitable for hosting the most important occasion in the parliamentary events calendar.
Masondo said the City Hall was now officially a precinct of Parliament, as provided for in Section 2 of the Powers, Privileges, and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act.
In addition to the State of the Nation Address, the City Hall will also host the two-day debate on the president’s address by the joint sitting of the Houses, the reply to the debate by the president, and the Budget Speech by the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on February 22.
He said: “Ramaphosa has called a Joint Sitting of the two Houses of Parliament for February 9 at 7pm to deliver the State of the Nation Address.”
The theme under which the joint sitting of Parliament is hosting the president is the sixth Parliament’s focus of “Following up on our commitments to the people: Making your future work better”. Masondo said the 2023 State of the Nation Address would be fully physical. All attendees, including Members of Parliament and invited guests, would be present in the Chamber and the public gallery.
Approximately 490 MPs and 10 representatives of the SA Local Government Association would be accommodated on the floor of the chamber, while 263 guests, constituted of representatives of various sectors of society, would be seated in the public gallery of the hall.
“Similar to last year, this year’s proceedings of Sona 2023 will follow the full ceremony format. Activities undertaken and observed during a full ceremony include the Flame Guard, the 21-gun salute, an aircraft flypast, the lining of the route, the Ceremonial Guard, the Salute of the Step Guard, the singing of the National Anthem, the full Military Band, and the ceremonial processions of the Provincial Speakers, Premiers, the Judiciary, the Deputy President and the President,” he said.
The president would take a salute at the platform in front of the statue of Tata Madiba, which is on the balcony of the City Hall, where he would observe the singing of the National Anthem by the SANDF military band, synchronised with the 21-gun salute and flypast.
The role of imbongi (praise singer) in the Sona programme has been an important feature of this key state event since 1994 and remains crucial to the celebration of our cultural diversity and social cohesion.
Imbongi is selected in conjunction with the provincial legislatures and the language in which the praise song is rendered is determined on a rotational basis to ensure all languages are afforded equal primacy. “For this Sona, an isiZulu praise singer, Msawenkosi Duma, from KwaZulu-Natal will usher the President into the Chamber.”
Masondo said they had taken note of planned marches and protests on the day of Sona, saying peaceful protests were a feature of the constitutional democracy and a means to express views on the occasion, saying appropriate arrangements would be made to receive memoranda where required.
“Parliament has engaged and reached agreement with all stakeholders, including the Parade Traders, with a view to minimise the temporary disruption of business due to the declaration of the City Hall as a Parliamentary precinct.
“Alternative trading sites have been provided in Harrington Square, Heritage Square and The Company’s Garden during this period.
“Once again we appreciate the ongoing co-operation of the representatives of this business community.”
Pretoria News