President Jacob Zuma considers the state-of-the-nation address to be one of his “most important” speeches, he said in a radio interview ahead of the opening of parliament on Thursday.
“As you wake up, you know that you are carrying a very huge responsibility,” Zuma said in an interview broadcast on SAfm on Thursday morning.
“The nation puts you here and they are expecting you to report back what you have been doing, but also to say what is it you're going to do on the tasks before you.
“So, in a sense, you position yourself with an understanding that I am going to be talking to the nation - very important, one of the most important addresses that you can make,” said Zuma.
He has received advice and calls from across the country on matters he should address in his speech on Thursday night, with crime, joblessness, corruption and education problems topping the agenda. - Sapa