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Fast facts about State of the Nation Address

What is the State of the Nation Address?

The State of the Nation Address is an address to Parliament by the President of the Republic of South Africa, as the representative of the people on the state of the South African nation. It is delivered annually to a joint sitting of Parliament (the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces sitting together in one venue - the National Assembly Chamber).
It is called by the President, through the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, when the President writes to them to request a joint sitting of Parliament.
It is a state occasion and one of the key events on South Africa’s Parliamentary and political calendar.
The President addresses the nation in his capacity as Head of State and not as head of Government.
It is one of the rare occasions when the three arms of the state come together in one place - the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature.

What is the significance of the:

Presidential procession to the National Assembly Chamber?

The ceremony, which starts at the Slave Lodge, just outside the entrance to the Parliamentary precinct, is a combination of public participation and a formal state ceremony.

It is normally an annual (there are two in an election year) ceremony of state at which the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature play out their constitutional roles in full view of the nation.

The public participation part of the procession is important because Parliament strives to make the institution accessible to people and to encourage public participation in its workings Former President nelson Mandela introduced the public participation component.

The first part of the procession from the Slave Lodge to the gates of Parliament involves a military guard of honour. From the entrance to the Parliamentary precinct, members of the South African public line the red carpet.

There is a Junior Guard of Honour from the entrance of Parliamentary precinct to the end of the National Council of Provinces building.

A Civil Guard of Honour and nine Eminent Persons line the route after this until the end of the Old Assembly Wing. Entertainers also perform along the public participation section of the route.

From the end of the Old Assembly Wing, the procession becomes part of a formal, state ceremony.

A Ceremonial Military Guard of Honour takes up a position in front of the New Wing in which the National Assembly Chamber is located and a military band - this year the Air Force Band - sets up to the right of the New Wing (the side nearest Tuynhuys) and plays the national anthem. A 21-gun salute and an Air Force fly-past takes place while the President takes the national salute from a special dais.

The red carpet?

Rolling out a red carpet was originally reserved for kings and queens and signified a welcome of great hospitality and ceremony. Over time, the red carpet was also used to welcome Heads of State.

The 21-gun salute?

The tradition of rendering a salute by firing cannon originated in the 14th century when cannon and firearms came into use. Originally, warships fired seven-gun salutes, seven probably chosen because of the number’s astronomical and Biblical significance.

In 1842, the 21-gun salute became the international norm for the highest honour a nation rendered and it is fired in honour of the Head of State, the national flag, a visit from the Head of State of a foreign nation, a member of a reigning royal family and a former Head of State.

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Buildings along the procession route?

The Slave Lodge: This building is part of Iziko Museums of Cape Town and nowadays serves as a site of memory and commemoration of slavery in South Africa. The Slave Lodge dates back to 1679 and is the second oldest colonial building in Cape Town. It was initially used as a lodge for the slaves of the Dutch East India Company. As one of the main government buildings in Cape Town over the centuries it had many functions, including serving as a post office, a hospital, a public library and the seat of the Supreme Court.

From 1827 to 1833 it was the seat of the British Council of Advice. In 1834 the Cape was given a new constitution by the British, and two councils were established: an Executive Council and a Legislative Council. The Legislative Council met in the Slave Lodge. For the first time members of the public and reporters were allowed to attend the sessions of this new Council - in the past all business had been conducted behind closed doors.

The first two-chamber Cape Parliament was instituted in 1853. The new Legislative Council of 15 members functioned as the first colonial “Upper House” to which all members were elected. They continued to meet in the records room of this building until in 1884 they could move into the newly completed Parliamentary building.

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The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) building: The oldest section of the Buildings of Parliament, which today houses the National Council of Provinces, was completed in 1885. The original design was by Charles Freeman, who designed other famous buildings in Cape Town such as the Standard Bank building in Adderley Street and the Methodist Church on Greenmarket Square. However, various financial and building problems were experienced and the project was reallocated to the Scottish architect Henry Greaves, who had just joined the Department of the Public Works. In the end the building took 10 years to be completed, from 1875 to 1885, and cost £220 000 - far more than the initial budget of £40 000.

The building was used from 1885 - 1910 for the two Houses of the Cape Parliament, namely the Cape Legislative Council (the Upper House in terms of the Westminster parliamentary system) and the Cape Legislative Assembly or Lower House.

With the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910 the Cape Parliament ceased to exist. The chamber of the old Cape Legislative Assembly became the Senate, first of the Union of South Africa in 1910 until 1961, and then of the Republic of South Africa until 1980, when the Senate was abolished. The chamber was used again from 1983 - 1994 for plenary sittings of the House of Representatives, comprising of so-called coloured members who were part of the tri-cameral Parliament established in terms of the 1983 Constitution.

After 1994 the Senate was re-established until 1997 as one of the two Houses of the first democratic Parliament of South Africa. In 1997, the Senate was replaced by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

The Chamber underwent extensive renovations in 2001, changing the seating from a rectangular to a semi-circular layout. However, it still has its original deep red colour from the days when it was the Upper House of the Cape Parliament and modelled on the Upper House of the Westminster Parliament.

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The Old Assembly Building: With the Unification of South Africa in 1910, a building was added to the original 1885 building and a new Chamber was built for the Union Parliament was built. It was used for this purpose until 1961 when South Africa became a republic. Thereafter it was used until 1994 as the House of Assembly of the Republic of South Africa. Since 1994 it is used for committee meetings and for caucus meetings of the ANC. Public events like the annual Women’s Parliament and the Youth Parliament also take place here.

After Unification in 1910, the second chamber of the old Cape Parliament was turned into a stately dining room for members and dignitaries, which it still is today. It was in this Old Assembly dining room that the former British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan made his famous “Winds of Change” speech in 1960.

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Africa House: Strategically placed in the heart of the South African parliamentary precinct, the former British High Commissioner’s Office is a reminder of colonial links with the British Crown. This sandstone building was designed in 1937 by the architects John Perry & Lightfoot, who won an architectural award for it.

The building was sold to the Department of Public Works in 2003. It was renamed Africa House and is currently undergoing renovations for future use by Parliament.

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Marks Building:This building was commissioned by the business man and financier Sammy Marks as his Cape Town offices in 1904. The architect was the famous Herbert Baker. Originally it was a narrow building, only three bays wide, which was much extended at a later stage. It was sold to the Department of Public Works a few years after completion.

This building housed the debating chamber of the House of Delegates (the Indian members of the 1983 tricameral Parliament) until their chamber in the new wing was completed in 1987. Today it houses MPs of the opposition parties, staff and members of the media.

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National Assembly Wing:The National Assembly Wing dates from 1983. It was built to accommodate the expanded needs of the Tricameral Parliament, and was added onto the south side of the existing building. It followed the same neo-classical architectural style. The project leaders were the architects Jack van der Lecq and Hannes Meiring.

Its main feature was a large new chamber, built for joint meetings of the three Houses of the Tricameral Parliament. Today this Chamber is used for the plenary sittings of the National Assembly. It is also used for joint sittings of the two Houses, eg for the President’s State of the Nation Address and for addresses by international heads of state.

Above the new main Chamber was built a smaller chamber to house the plenary sittings of the House of Delegates. In terms of the 1983 Constitution this House was established for representatives of the Indian population group. This Chamber was completed in 1987. Today it is known as Committee Room E249 and used for committee meetings.

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Good Hope Building: This building has links with Parliament that go back a long time, as it was used for sittings of the Cape House of Assembly from 1854 - 1884. After that it served as the banqueting hall of the Good Hope Masonic Lodge until destroyed by a fire in 1892. It was then rebuilt as a music hall and theatre c 1900, known as the Good Hope Theatre.

The State purchased it from the Freemasons in 1916 for staff offices for the Governor who was seated in Tuynhuys. A new façade was built in 1925 in the Cape Revival style. It subsequently served as the State President’s Office and the seat of the President’s Council in the 1980s. Parliamentary members of the Inkatha Freedom Party occupied the building from 1994 - 2004. Since then it is used by MPs and staff of the ANC.

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Tuynhuys and Stalplein:Tuynhuys, which houses the Presidential offices, falls under the Presidency and is managed independently from Parliament.

Historically Tuynhuys (or Government House as it was called by the British) provided the grounds on which Parliament was built, with each extension creeping southwards into Tuynhuys gardens until in 1988 the buildings reached the Tuynhuys building itself. Tuynhuys still shares the same erf number with Parliament, and together were declared national monuments in 1984.

The large open area between the main gates and the front of Tuynhuys is called Stalplein. This name is derived from the Governor’s horse stables. This area was originally the back yard of the building, with the main entrance on the side of the Government Avenue and the Public Gardens.

This changed in 1913 when Government Ave was closed to vehicular traffic, and it became the main entrance to Tuynhuys. Stalplein was redeveloped in the early 1980s, when alterations to Tuynhuys also took place to accommodate the State President’s Office.

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Last modified: 02 February 2010 10:19:32.