Former South African president FW de Klerk and former deputy president Jacob Zuma are to be among honoured guests at the official opening of Parliament and the State of the Nation address.
This emerged at a press conference at Parliament on Wednesday addressed by the presiding officers — Speaker Baleka Mbete and National Council of Provinces chairperson Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu.
In a statement, they said President Thabo Mbeki — whose second and last term of office runs to 2009 — will deliver his State of the Nation address to the joint sitting of Parliament on Friday February 3.
The theme of the day this year, chosen by the presiding officers, is All Shall Have Equal Rights.
The State of the Nation address is an important occasion “in our political calendar, as it brings together the different spheres of government, all the three arms of the state and diverse sectors of our society”, they said.
“This year’s theme sets the tone for a reflection on achievements, failures and challenges regarding equality legislation we have passed since [democracy in] 1994,” they added.
There will be a parliamentary review campaign this year, they said, which will focus on the Promotion of Equality and the Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act “with a bias towards gender and disability”.
This will provide parliamentarians with the ability to check gaps in the implementation of legislation, they said.
Among other honoured guests at the opening of Parliament will be former president Nelson Mandela and former chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
De Klerk served as president from 1989 to 1994 under the old apartheid system, but became deputy president after 1994, serving in that capacity until 1996 when his then National Party went into opposition.
Zuma was deputy president from 1999 to June last year when he was dismissed in the run-up to him facing corruption charges relating to the country’s arms deal. — I-Net Bridge