10:41
GOVERNMENT Communication and Information System (GCIS) acting director-general, Michael Currin, led officials on an outreach activity at the Cape Town Train Station on Thursday morning, 9 February before President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona).
Currin said the outreach was to encourage the public to tune in to the address.
He said the Sona is a key national event where the president of South Africa advises the nation on the government programme for the year and reflects on the progress made with regards to the commitments of the previous year’s address.
“The head of the state will give us the State of the Nation Address. We all know that this gives us a sense of what’s going on in our country and what the challenges are.”
He said he was happy with the reception he got from the public who showed an interest to tune in to the address.
“Last year, we were almost beaten up when we were giving out flyers but today, I’m very much happy to see a very significant change,” he said.
When Daily Sun spoke to several train commuters about the Sona, they said chances are they might not be able to watch due to the electricity issues.
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While others said they would watch, but they do not have any expectations because there isn’t anything new thing the president will say that they haven’t heard before.
Luzuko Mboyi (37) said he is tired of hearing the same thing repeatedly, all he wants to see now is action.
“Everything that the president will say today will be the same thing he said last year, can we now see him act? That’s all I want,” he said.
Andiswa Ndlela said she will be tuning in and hopes that the president will address issues of unemployment and the age cut-off in employment programmes for the government.
“This issue that people who are over 35 cannot get jobs in the government needs to be cancelled because we are suffering. We cannot be excluded from getting jobs but be wanted when it’s time to vote,” she said.
She said: “I also want the president to stop load shedding. We are tired of it,” she said.
9:51
It’s all eyes on President Cyril Ramaphosa as he gears up to deliver an address of his life, this evening at Cape Town City Hall at 7 pm.
Unlike the previous years, the 2023 State of the Nation Address (SONA) finds the country sharing the same sentiments of frustration and lack of trust when it comes to the government.
Several households are bound not to be able to watch the SONA due to the continuous power outages.
South Africa is currently experiencing up to six hours of load shedding per day since October and this has cost the country billions of rands, with business having to close shop and people losing their jobs.
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