It’s all systems go for Sona

Preparations are taking place inside the City Hall where President Cyril Ramaphosa will be delivering the State of the Nation Address 2022. This historical venue will be used for SONA after the National Assembly was set alight. Photograph : Phando Jikelo-African News Agency(ANA)

Preparations are taking place inside the City Hall where President Cyril Ramaphosa will be delivering the State of the Nation Address 2022. This historical venue will be used for SONA after the National Assembly was set alight. Photograph : Phando Jikelo-African News Agency(ANA)

Published Feb 10, 2022

Share

NATIONAL Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo has warned that Parliament will implement its rules if any MPs try to disrupt the State of the Nation Address today.

He said yesterday it was all systems go before President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his sixth Sona.

He said they want to ensure that the event was without incident and hoped MPs would stick to the rules of the House.

Parliament relocated the event after the burning of the National Assembly and Old Assembly Chamber last month.

Zandile Mafe, 49, has been charged with various offences including arson and terrorism.

Mafe is due to appear in court tomorrow after he was denied bail by the Regional Court last Friday.

Masondo said they wanted all MPs to conduct themselves in line with the decorum of the House.

“In relation to possible disruption in the House, the presiding officers will apply the rules. We don’t see at this stage the possibility of disruption,” said Masondo.

He said Parliament has scaled down on costs for the Sona.

The Black Sash and other NGOs have called on the president to implement the R350 grant.

The grant was introduced during Covid-19, but it is coming to an end in March after several extensions.

The ANC has asked that the feasibility of the grant be studied.

University of the Western Cape professor of political studies Bheki Mngomezulu said there were many issues on Ramaphosa’s table, but the issue of security must be top of his Sona address.

“Among the many issues the president has to talk about it is the reports he has received and that includes the Special Investigating Unit and the July reports into the unrest. Coupled with that is the security of the country because it is becoming a concern,” said Mngomezulu.

He said the issue of the Eskom crisis with power outages was another issue.

“Related to that is job creation because if the economy is staggering that has an impact on job creation,” he said.

The DA, Cope and Good Party also called for action from Ramaphosa saying the time for taking was over.

They said issues of poverty, unemployment and lack of economic growth was a serious concern.

The economy has failed to grow by over 2% in the last few years.

“The government claims to be executing a transformative agenda to right the socio-economic, environmental and spatial imbalances of apartheid.

“But the transformation we have seen is increasing the marginalisation of the most vulnerable people, increasing unemployment, increasing poverty and deepening inequality,” said Brett Herron of Good Party.

Cope national spokesperson Dennis Bloem said the issue of security and unemployment needed the attention of the president.

He said the country needed certainty around safety and security with many incidents going on.

John Steenhuisen, the leader of the DA, said they wanted action and no talk shop.

He said crime and corruption were also major issues in the country.

The president has to ensure he deals with security issues and unemployment as the latter was reaching a crisis.

[email protected]

Political Bureau