President Zuma sets date for 2017 state of the nation address

The President has called a joint sitting on Thursday 9 February 2017 to deliver the State of the Nation Address‚ Parliament announced on Monday.

His 2016 SONA message to parliament focused on the economy in an effort to stave off a threatened credit ratings downgrade‚ which is still a fear eight months later.

He promised to fast-track partnerships with the private sector; to cut red tape; to address the governance and performance problems in state-owned companies; to encourage skilled migration into SA; to promote and encourage tourism in the context of a competitive exchange rate; and to expedite regulatory certainty in the mining sector.

He said the recommendations of the presidential review commission on state-owned enterprises would be implemented. The commission recommended the disposal of non-core state companies and encouraged private investment in others‚ such as through public share offerings.

He also promised to cut out wasteful government expenditure.