Preparations are proceeding well within the national executive of government for the 2016 State of the Nation Address (SONA), which will be delivered by President Jacob Zuma on 11 February 2016 during the Joint Sitting of Parliament in Cape Town.
The SONA will be delivered under the theme “Together We Move South Africa Forward”, which is government’s core message until 2019, promoting collaboration by all South Africans in building a united, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa.
As part of the preparations, the President will convene the Extended Cabinet or Lekgotla from today, 2 February 2016 until 5 February in Pretoria, to review the past year and discuss the priorities of the current year. The Cabinet Lekgotla follows the Lekgotla of the governing party, the ANC, which sets the tone for government each year based on the organisation’s annual January 8 anniversary statement.
The governing party has declared 2016 as the Year of Advancing People’s Power: Local Government is in your Hands. This theme will influence content of the SONA and government’s programme of action for the year. The theme promotes more interaction with the public in governance, with a further emphasis on the message given by President Zuma last year’s SONA that “local government is everybody’s business.”
Given the dire economic situation in the country, the Lekgotla and SONA are expected to focus strongly on the economy, especially the national response to the slow economic growth and a highly constrained fiscal environment.
Enquiries:
Bongani Majola
Cell: 082 339 1993
E-mail: Bonganim@presidency.gov.za
Phumla Williams
Cell: 083 501 0139
E-mail: Phumla@gcis.gov.za
