PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa is set to deliver the 2024 State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday, 8 February, 7pm.
Notably, this will be the last Sona of the 6th administration before the 2024 national and provincial elections.
This might be the last time Ramaphosa delivers the Sona, should his party, the ANC, lose the elections or fail to get coalition partners to boost their numbers. This after it has been predicted that the governing party’s chances of winning the elections are slim.
Speaking to Daily Sun, Professor of African politics at Unisa Kealeboga Maphunye said this Sona will be a chance for Ramaphosa to convince the country that they still have what it takes to lead them.
He said although the Sona is not about the political parties, but as the leader of the governing party, the president can use this moment to reflect on the good that they think they have done in the past five years.
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“This Sona will be for Ramaphosa to appeal to the public to continue to vote with a promise that they will do better,” he said.
Maphunye said Mzansi will be watching the Sona with expectations, some will be watching to determine which political parties they are going to vote for or should they stick to the ANC, or not.
He said what people are expecting from the president is to address unemployment which has increased, poverty, load shedding and he might also want to reflect on the recent achievements, such as the International Court Justice ruling, the Grammy awards and the Rugby World Cup win.
Professor Dirk Kotzé of the department of political sciences at Unisa said the Sona won’t be as impactful as the one coming up after the elections with a new administration taking over.
He said what people can expect is Ramaphosa reflecting on their achievement and might not have any new things to share.
“As we have seen him lately, he has been speaking about what his administration has done,” he said.
