President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver this year’s State-of-The-Nation-Address (Sona) at the Cape Town City Hall. National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Chairperson Amos Masondo made the announcement of the venue in a statement.
This is an alternative place for the annual Sona event. They say the decision for this move resulted from the fire that destructed the National Assembly and Old Assembly Buildings.
According to Mapisa-Nqakula and Masondo the City of Cape Town had offered three places for this annual event.
These included the Cape Town International Convention Centre and the City Council Chambers. They say the City Hall is considered a suitable venue in terms of its infrastructure and its capacity.
They added that it is also a befitting place considering its historical significance.
The City Hall is the first place where the former late President of democratic South Africa Nelson Mandela made his speech to the nation after his release from prison in 1990.
Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo says the work of the National Assembly will continue:
