In an unprecedented move National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete and National Council of Provinces speaker Thandi Modise announced on Tuesday that the state of the nation address (Sona) would be postponed. This comes on the eve of a special national executive committee (NEC) meeting to be held on Wednesday to discuss President Jacob Zuma’s removal. Opposition parties requested the postponement, saying Zuma should not be allowed to deliver the key address at the opening of Parliament, which was scheduled to take place on Thursday night. The R4.3m event has now been postponed after Mbete met chief whips in Parliament. Presiding officers told reporters in Parliament that Zuma had told them that he was in the process of requesting a postponement. Zuma indicated to them that the current political environment in Parliament was not conducive to an orderly joint sitting on Thursday. Mbete said the postponement was agreed to in order to allow for the environment to stabilise so the president ...
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