Sona to go ahead as planned‚ say officials
THE state of the nation address (Sona) will proceed as scheduled‚ despite requests by opposition parties for a postponement‚ parliament’s presiding officers said yesterday.
“We have absolutely no intention [of approaching] any president to say you must not come to [deliver] the state of the nation address,” National Council of Provinces (NCOP) chairwoman Thandi Modise said at a media conference in parliament.
“Whoever is president will [deliver Sona] – that is all we know.”
Sona is scheduled for February 8 and R4.3-million is budgeted for it.
National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete said the budget for the event had been cut back.
In 2014‚ it was R9.2-million‚ but in fact only R6.3-million was spent.
Speculation is rife that senior ANC leaders are in tough negotiations to remove Zuma from office.
The EFF has asked for a special National Assembly sitting before Sona to debate a motion of no confidence in Zuma.
The party indicated that it would disrupt proceedings should parliament not accede to its request. National Assembly deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli said the EFF request was unlikely to be entertained. It was up to the ANC to decide Zuma’s fate. “The ANC will decide on the president – parliament will not take that decision. “We want to have the smoothest state of the nation address in spite of the threats [of disruption]‚” Tsenoli said. Earlier this week‚ DA leader Mmusi Maimane said he had written to Mbete‚ requesting that Sona be postponed until Zuma had been removed from office and parliament given an opportunity to elect a new president. Maimane said the ANC now had two centres of power‚ each holding starkly differing policies‚ ideological positions and plans of action. EFF leader Julius Malema also wrote to Mbete requesting a motion of no confidence in Zuma before Sona. A total of 1 120 guests have been invited to the event. – TimesLIVE