Where to watch Ramaphosa’s opening of parliament address live
President Cyril Ramaphosa will be delivering his second opening of parliament address on Thursday (18 July) at 19h00.
The address—often called the second State of the Nation Address—is delivered by the president following their election to office following the national vote.
This will be Ramaphosa’s second such address, having been elected as president in 2019, but his first coming from a non-majority party.
The address will be live-streamed from various online channels, as well as news platforms on broadcast.
Ramaphosa was elected to office through the newly-formed Government of National Unity (GNU) which comprises the ANC, the DA, the IFP and a host of smaller parties.
Following the 2024 elections, the ANC suffered a historic loss. For the first time in democratic South Africa, it lost its majority and fell below 40% of the vote.
In post-election talks, the ANC opted to invite all parties to form a GNU, to which only two parties initially heeded the call: the DA and IFP. The parties signed an agreement that would secure the presidency for Ramaphosa, the deputy speaker role for the DA, and the deputy chair of the NCOP position for the IFP.
The GNU has since grown in number, with major parties scoring representation across government, including ministerial roles for the larger parties.
The 10 out of the 18 parties represented in the National Assembly that have agreed to form part of the GNU collectively hold 287 out of 400 seats, which accounts for 71.75% of the total.
This strengthens the GNU’s supermajority, where a two-thirds majority (or 66.6%) is needed to make sweeping changes, like changing the country’s Constitution.
However, this has also raised questions and doubts about the stability of the GNU.
Analysts have pointed out that the GNU holds parties with disparate views and ideologies, many of which are unlikely to find middle or common ground.
This includes gulfs between the ANC and DA, particularly on matters like National Health Insurance (NHI) and policies such as land expropriation without compensation.
Markets, analysts, and South Africans at large will look to Ramaphosa’s address for insights into how the government will bridge these gaps.
Stakeholders will also be looking out for which policies were adopted at the recent cabinet lekgotlas, where various interests are now competing on the platform of governance.
Loading ...
