Parliament gears for Sona 2021 – no red carpet, fewer attendees
It’s all systems go with the State of the Nation Address (Sona) for 2021 set to be delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Parliament on Thursday, 11 February at exactly 19:00 – but for the first time, the event will be anything but the extravaganza South Africans have gotten used to seeing every year.
As expected, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sona will not feature all the glamour it usually does – red carpet, MPs dressed to the nines, military parade and 21-gun salute.
The event will be a bit low key, with not more than 50 people allowed in the National Assembly chamber. Most members of the house will be joining the Sona virtually.
“Due to the limited number of persons permitted within the precincts of Parliament, and Parliament’s sensitivity to the prevailing conditions, various ceremonial aspects that usually characterise the Sona have been suspended,” Parliament said.
Parliament did however, emphasise that when possible, some of the traditional features will take place virtually in keeping with the significance and character of the address.
Sona 2021: What will Ramaphosa focus on?
Considering the current state of affairs, we reckon President Cyril Ramaphosa has a legions of issues to address, including the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent AstraZeneca blunder. By extension, the president will likely touch on the progress made under level 3 of the lockdown.
With the economy having taken a dip, as a result of the pandemic, Ramaphosa is expected to expand on his controversial economic recovery plan, which he had said help cushion the COVID-19-spurred blow and create jobs, which is another issue itself.
It wouldn’t be Sona, or any address really, if Ramaphosa didn’t address the level of corruption, particularly in the wake of the pandemic. In his recent newsletter, he bemoaned the findings from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), looking into personal protective equipment (PPE) corruption – if it’s anything similar, he’ll probably condemn graft (sometimes at the hands of his own colleagues)
This year’s Sona will cost a little over R2 million – apparently far less than the usual shindig.
“The significant savings expected will be redirected to modernising technological capabilities of Parliament to enhance its constitutional functions of public participation, oversight and law-making,” Parliament further said.
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