Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
state of the nation address debatelatest news & developments
Panelists Lester Kiewit, Khadija Patel, Pearl Pillay and Angelo Fick. (Photos: David Harrison)

Post State of the Nation Address

Suggestions were made for South African citizens to spoil their ballots, to show politicians how dissatisfied they are

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says he plans to appear before Parliament’s public enterprises committee to give the legislature a detailed report on the challenges facing Eskom. (David Harrison/M&G)

Gordhan promises action to keep the lights on

During the Sona debate, the public enterprises minister outlined the steps being taken to halt load-shedding

President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to deliver his response to questions from members of Parliament on Thursday. (Jairus Mmutle/GCIS)

MPs to tackle Ramaphosa Sona speech

Two days have been set aside for legislators to either critique or applaud President Ramaphosa’s Sona speech

“There was a very strong call that government must act speedily to implement free higher education for young people from poor and working class background

Leave Cabinet decisions to the president, Pandor tells opposition

The minister told opposition parties that decisions regarding the assembly of new cabinet should be left to the president of the republic

Implicated: Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s impeccably tailored suit could not conceal the narrative of a rotten state

​Prepare for a tough budget — Malusi Gigaba

The president has asked the finance ministry to reduce spending and increase revenue to fill a R50-billion revenue gap

Godlimpi warned that even though current polls showed the ANC winning 48% of the vote next year with Cyril Ramaphosa as president, that figure was not guaranteed if the governing party could not resolve the electricity crunch.
(Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko)

Land reform takes centre stage at #SonaDebate

President Cyril Ramaphosa repeated the ANC’s intention to expropriate land without compensation in his State of the Nation address on Friday night.

“In the matter of composition of the cabinet
Video

WATCH LIVE: MPs debate Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address

​Members of Parliament will spend Monday debating President Cyril Ramaphosa’s February 16 State of the Nation Address.

Zuma: Preventing downgrade a top priority

Government will work to avert a downgrade and focus on fixing domestic issues that have thwarted confidence in SA’s economy, the president said.

The illegal occupants of land in Nellmapius

Sona debate: Malema apologises for helping bring Zuma to power

The president’s leadership ‘can be summed up into the Guptas, Nkandla and Umshini Wami’ said Julius Malema, before walking out of Parliament.

Zuma adds humorous touch to Sona debate response

The president was in top form, from "commending" Julius Malema and calling Mangosuthu Buthelezi the "voice of reason", to giving a history lesson.

ANC taunts opposition as Sona debate intensifies

DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane has been referred to as a broken black man in a "broken blue sea of white conservative males".

Former South African opposition leader Mmusi Maimane.

Maimane: Zuma laughed while South Africans cried

With heckling and cheering from MPs, the Sona debate was nothing short of dramatic when the DA’s Mmusi Maimane roasted President Jacob Zuma.

Former South African opposition leader Mmusi Maimane.

Maimane to Zuma: You are not an honourable man

The DA’s Mmusi Maimane told Jacob Zuma that he had "broken" Parliament, adding that he was "a broken man presiding over a broken society".