Today is the big day as the first State of the Nation Address (SONA) to ever take place outside of the Parliament Precinct will kick off at around 7pm at Cape Town City Hall when President Cyril Ramaphosa takes to the podium to deliver his speech.
Final preparations have been put into place with road closures, security measures and last-minute dry runs taking place on Wednesday.
Analysts expect Ramaphosa to trumpet his administration’s successes over the past year and update the nation on the progress made since the last SONA. Daily Maverick reports that the president will focus on a few key areas, which include the vaccination drive, the presidential jobs plan, switching from analogue to digital (now completed in five provinces), and the licensing of more spectrum.
Ramaphosa could also focus on the plague that is load shedding and update the nation on what the next steps are for a steady power supply.
“He is likely to blame the slow roll-out of emergency supply on court cases and point to green energy successes like the opening of Bid Window 5 and a ministerial determination by Minerals and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to procure 11,813 MW of new energy,” reports Daily Maverick.
Just some of the list of accomplishments the president can choose to boast about in his speech include:
- R21 billion in infrastructure projects
- 18% growth in investments in special economic zones
- Vaccine manufacturing in SA, including Aspen, Biovac, Afrigen, NantSA
- 10 million people receiving the R350 social relief of distress grant
- Investment in the Tshwane Automotive Hub
- R131 billion deal to transition to clean energy from EU countries
- National climate commission started
- 10 countries able to obtain e-visas with more on the way
- The good work of the Special Investigating Unit
- R21 billion budget implemented to combat gender-based violence
The list goes on and Daily Maverick has complied a nifty graphic for you to read in full here.
Ramaphosa is also likely to touch on the work of the Zondo Commission and the release of the first two parts of the State Capture report.
But opposition parties say this year’s SONA will be the same old tune as every year, filled with more empty promises and indecisiveness from Ramaphosa and have delivered critique ahead of the address.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa says the president always has plans but fails to implement them and lamented the president for his failure to stop the looting and destruction of infrastructure during the July riots.
Parliament had initially budgeted R1.9 million for the SONA but with the move to the Cape Town City Hall, due to the fire that gutted the Parliamentary Precinct, unbudgeted for, more would have to be spent on the event.
IFP national council member and party provincial secretary in Gauteng, Alco Ngobese, said the amount already spent on SONA was exorbitant and that the extra money being spent on the event should have gone to pressing issues like service delivery. Ngobese said the cost of future SONA’s should be kept to an absolute minimum.
Meanwhile, the DA is likely to want the president to announce hard timelines on when the recommendations of the State Capture report will be implemented.
In the markets, the rand is currently trading at R15.25 ahead of the US CPI numbers due to be released later today. The local unit is unlikely to be affected by SONA according to TreasuryONE. “The rand has had a strong run over the last couple of days, and we can expect some consolidation at current levels ahead of the CPI data this afternoon.”
This morning gold is flat at $1,833, platinum softer at $1,030, and palladium up at $2,283. Brent crude oil is trading at $91.60 a barrel.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
The tax hikes that could fund a new basic income grant in South Africa – BusinessTech
SABC racks up billions worth of irregular expenditure – EWN
Sappi rockets 16% after strong results – Fin24
Global Business
How Much Lithium Will the World Need? It Depends Who You Ask – Bloomberg
Dutch central bank ‘deeply regrets’ role in slave trade – Fin24/Reuters
Nuclear fusion heat record a ‘huge step’ in quest for new energy source – The Guardian
Markets
Stocks lose steam in Asia before U.S. inflation test – Reuters
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.86% – Investing.com
Bank of England’s Pill backs ‘steady handed approach’ to raising rates – Reuters
Opinion/In-depth
Christo Wiese wins back billionaire status – BizNews
A brief history of African nations at the Olympic Winter Games – Daily Maverick
Covid vaccines deserve our trust – but big pharma doesn’t – The Guardian
Video
Previewing SONA 2022 – Business Day TV
Growthpoint to convert office park into apartments – Business Day TV
DeFi explained: What is decentralised finance and could it be a death sentence for banks? – euronews
Image: Gallo Images
