SONA'S 'FINAL ACT' AT CITY HALL

Parliament eyes Dome return as costs top R7m

- THEOLIN TEMBO and MURRAY SWART

SANDF officers during rehearsals at the City Hall in preparation for the State of the Nation Address tonight.

(PHANDO JIKELO Parliament of South Africa)

IF ALL goes according to plan, this year's 2026 State of the Nation Address (Sona) which comes with a R7 million price tag will be the last one held in the City of Cape Town's City Hall.

This is according to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza, who, alongside her fellow presiding officers of Parliament, provided an update on Parliament's preparations for Sona yesterday.

Didiza said that Sona remains the highest formal expression of executive accountability to Parliament and, through Parliament, to the people of South Africa.

"It is the moment when the president accounts to the nation on progress made, outlines priorities for the year ahead, and presents government's programme of action. These commitments then become the benchmarks against which Parliament measures executive performance through committee oversight, debates and legislative processes during the year," Didiza said.

When asked to share guest names, she said, "Some of them actually should be a surprise".