Pretoria – President Jacob Zuma has requested Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to officiate at the Youth Day commemorations in Galeshewe, in the Northern Cape, on Monday.
This follows the change of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) date from 19 June to 17 June.
The theme of Youth Day is "Youth Moving South Africa Forward".
The date, 16 June, marks the anniversary of the Soweto Uprisings which tragically ended with hundreds of young people killed by the apartheid government when they protested against the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction.
According to the Presidency, President Zuma is expected to spend 16 June working on the SONA.
In his address, which will be the first sitting of the fifth Parliament, the President is expected to outline the new administration’s Programme of Action.
“He requested Parliament to bring forward the SONA date to the 17th to enable him to attend the African Union Summit in Equatorial Guinea on 25-26 June, the dates that were initially scheduled for the SONA debate,” said the Presidency.
The SONA debate will now take place on 18 and 19 June with the President’s reply to the debate on the 20th.
Deputy President Ramaphosa will also deliver the eulogy at the funeral of Epainette Mbeki, mother of former President Thabo Mbeki in Idutywa in the Eastern Cape on Saturday. He will be accompanied by Minister in the Presidency and Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on State Funerals, Jeff Radebe. – SAnews.gov.za
