Didiza says this year’s Sona is more than just a ceremonial occasion.
The official opening of the new parliamentary year will cost taxpayers over R7 million.
This was announced by the secretary to parliament, Xolile George, who briefed the media about parliament’s readiness to host this year’s State of the Nation Address (Sona).
President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver this year’s Sona at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday, 12 February.
George said most of the budgeted money for Sona is being spent on hiring equipment for live broadcasting, and some is also being used to ensure their ICT infrastructure is “fit for purpose.”
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Why is the budget less in 2026?
George said last year parliament had budgeted around R15 million for the same event; however, R12.3 million was spent from the funds set aside.
“Those are consistent drivers of the big costs,” he said.
George said parliament has to pay the City of Cape Town a small amount of money for the use of the Cape Town City Hall, which has been used to host Sonas since the parliament buildings were burnt down in 2022.
“In the main, the major cost drivers are broadcasting equipment and services related thereto.”
“Equipment alone was R9.1 million,” he said.
George says the budget last year was bigger because parliament had to rent out the Cape Town ICC to accommodate other guests.
“This year we have a marquee in front of the City Hall, and that cost driver is taken up by public works, so that is the reason that explains the lesser amount,” he said.
Who will attend?
The speaker of parliament, Thoko Didiza, said all members of parliament will attend the state of the nation address, and representatives of the South African Local Government Association will also be present.
She said invited guests will sit in the public gallery, and others will sit in the overflow hall.
According to Didiza, all former heads of state have been invited, including former presidents Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma and Kgalema Motlanthe.
She said former president Thabo Mbeki is the only former head of state who will not be in attendance.
“President Kgalema said he is coming, President Zuma said he is coming, President Mbeki has apologised, so we will wait and see who comes,” she said.
Parliament TV
Despite millions of rands budgeted to ensure that South Africans are able to watch the Sona from their homes, Didiza said Parliament TV is the official broadcaster and will supply an uninterrupted feed to other channels and radio stations.
“This ensures that the entire nation is able to follow Sona live across multiple platforms as an important part of public involvement and access.”
Parliament is ready
Didiza said this year’s Sona is more than just a ceremonial occasion.
“It is a reaffirmation of parliament’s constitutional mandate to hold the executive to account, to legislate in the public interest, to facilitate meaningful public participation, and to serve as a platform for national dialogue,” she said.
“We want to assure South Africans that parliament is operationally ready, institutionally focused, and firmly committed to ensure that this state of the nation address sets the tone for the year for an intensified oversight, responsive law making and tangible delivery,” she added.
Political analysis
Theo Neethling, a political analyst from the University of Free State, told The Citizen that Sona occupies a central place in South Africa’s constitutional democracy, serving as a key moment for executive accountability, policy direction, and political symbolism.
By bringing together the executive, legislature and judiciary, it formally opens the parliamentary year and sets the government’s governing agenda.
But Neethling says all of the Sonas that have been delivered in the last 10 years have recurring areas of focus, such as unemployment, economic growth, and improved service delivery, among others.
“South Africa’s underlying political and socio-economic challenges have remained largely unchanged, and this is reflected in the recurring themes of successive Sonas,” he said.
Neethling said that, against this backdrop, public perceptions of Sona have grown increasingly ambivalent.
“While widely recognised as an important constitutional ritual, many South Africans view it with little enthusiasm and even scepticism as a familiar script that reiterates commitments but offers limited reassurance that long-standing challenges affecting daily life will be resolved,” he said.
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