SONA 2018

[Grant]

The State of the Nation Address (or SONA) will be delivered to a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament (National Assembly and National Council of Provinces) on Thursday, 8 February 2018 at 7pm.

The State of the Nation Address will be broadcast live on: DStv Channel 408, SABC TV, eNCA, ANN7, SABC radio stations and Parliament’s YouTube Channel.

https://www.parliament.gov.za/project-event-details/24

 

[Grant]

Cyril must avoid a Zuma Sona (OPINION)

State of the nation address (Sona) or a motion of no confidence: these are the options that National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete is considering. It follows a request by opposition leaders Julius Malema and Mmusi Maimane.

They consider it a waste of time listening to a president whose party and the Parliament he intends addressing are hatching plans to remove him from office.

This is unprecedented. Never has the republic been in doubt over whether this democratic ritual – the Sona – will go ahead with less than a week left to the scheduled date, February 8. Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising. Jacob Zuma’s tenure has been full of “firsts” that add up to an anomaly.

Besides its abnormality, this unusual moment is also revealing of what is going on within the newly elected ANC leadership. That we are even here goes against what has been happening since Cyril Ramaphosa’s election as ANC president. Subsequent developments suggested that Ramaphosa was either calling the shots or Zuma was bending over to please his counterpart at Luthuli House.

https://www.news24.com/Columnists/GuestColumn/cyril-must-avoid-a-zuma-sona-20180202

 

[Gordon_R]

Useful coverage of both SONA and No Confidence Vote stories: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/art...-notebook-sona2018-unprecedented-uncertainty/

 

[Sumen]

I wonder if Cyril has his SONA speech ready, just in case a miracle happens