The Address will again be delivered at 19.00, a change brought about by the fourth Parliament. Delivery of the State of the Nation address in the evening enables many more people to follow proceedings, hear about the government's plans and possibly to engage with these plans. The aim is to deepen the role of Parliament as a platform for public consideration of issues. The State of the Nation Address provides Parliament with the opportunity to enhance its oversight responsibility, to identify key aspects of the lawmaking and oversight programme for the coming period and to plan how to involve the public more closely in this work. Parliament also provides a public forum for consideration of the President's message, with the debate on the address in Parliament and the President's reply to the debate that follows.
In an election year, like this one, there are two State of the Nation Addresses: one in February to round off the old Parliament and another after the election when the new Parliament has been invested. This State of the Nation Address will again be a full ceremonial occasion, involving all branches of the state and members of the public.
This state ceremony, the only one which takes place at Parliament, involves a mounted police escort and a military ceremonial motor escort, a guard of honour lining the President's route to Parliament by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), a red carpet at Parliament for the President and retinue as they move to the National Assembly building, with public participation along the route taken by the President. Parliament's Presiding Officers and the Secretary to Parliament accompany him from the Slave Lodge to dais in front of the National Assembly building, where the national salute is taken by the Ceremonial Guard of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
At the same time there is a fly past by the South African Air Force and a 21-gun salute in the Company Gardens, with entertainment buy a military band beforehand and a praise singer at the entrance to the National Assembly Chamber, who precedes the President into the Chamber. The praise singer who will lead the President into the National Assembly Chamber is Eric Sifiso Lubisi, who hails from Schultzendal in Mpumalanga and is a Grade 7 educator at Schultzendal Primary School.
This being winter in Cape Town Parliament has a wet weather plan in place for the State of the Nation Address ceremony in case of wind and rain.
Public participants in the ceremony on Tuesday will be a Junior Guard of Honour, a Civil Guard of Honour, nine Eminent Persons, a praise singer, university students and cultural groups. The Eminent Persons are selected by Provincial Legislatures in recognition of their contribution to our democracy. The names received so far are: Eastern Cape: Nondwe Mankahla, Free State: Reverend Peter Rolly Kock, Gauteng: Mmapelane Sinah Vacu, Limpopo: Livhuwani Martha Ngwana, Mpumalanga: Tikhona Ivy Jele, Northern Cape : Kedibone Patricia Nkomombini, and North West: Mosela Selina Matome. Two Cape Town high schools - Walmer High School and Maitland High School- will provide 120 participants for the occasion, and Civil Guard of Honour will be drawn from Parliament's officials with 20 years or more of service.
Students from the three universities in the Western Cape - the University of Cape Town, the University of Stellenbosch and the University of the Western Cape - have been invited as Parliament's guests and will be in the National Assembly public gallery for the President's address. Twenty-seven students have been invited.
Cultural groups, chosen on a rotational basis and in keeping with the theme for the State of the Nation Address, will perform along the President's red carpet route from the Slave Lodge to the National Assembly. Besides those who form part of the public participation component of the ceremony , guests who have been invited include:
Former Presidents, former Deputy Presidents, former Presiding Officers and former Chief Justices, Representatives of statutory and Constitutional institutions
Heads of Mission (the diplomatic corps), Guests of the President, Representatives of the House of Traditional Leaders, The Mayor of the City of Cape Town, Representatives from civil society organisations, religious bodies, state-owned enterprises, business and trade organisations, trade union federations, academic and research institutions, Members of the Judiciary, Directors-general of national government departments
Guests of political parties represented in Parliament, guests of members - members, including ministers and deputy ministers attend as part of their duties as public representatives.
The State of the Nation Address is one of the rare occasions when all three arms of the state - the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature - come together in one place. The ceremony is a combination of public participation and a formal state ceremony. The public participation part of the procession is important because Parliament strives to make the institution accessible to people and to facilitate public involvement in the lawmaking and other processes of Parliament.
Various media platforms, comprising hundreds of accredited journalists from all major broadcast, print and community media will help bring the experience to the homes of as many South Africans as possible, and international TV teams will take feeds directly from the venue. Coverage of the occasion will be streamed live on Parliament's website, and broadcast live on radio and television and at public viewing sites.
The debate in Parliament on the address and the President's reply will be streamed live on Parliament's website, broadcast live on Parliament's DSTV television channel and on Parliament's YouTube channel (@ParliamentofRSA). You can also join the conversation on Twitter (@ParliamentofRSA #SONA2014).
12 June 2014
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