KwaZulu-Natal Speaker Hon. Nontembeko Boyce giving an outline and the state of readiness to the members of the media for the Official Opening of the Legislature and the State of the Province Address which will be held at Woodburn Stadium, Pietermaritzburg from the 27- 28 February 2025.
23 February 2025
Programme Director
The Secretary of the legislature, Ms. Nerusha Naidoo
Members of the media
Let me take this opportunity to thank you for joining us this morning at our press briefing where we will be outlining our state of readiness regarding our preparations for the 2025 official opening of the second session of the 7th term of the legislature and the State of the Province Address.
This year’s Official Opening of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature will take place over two days at the Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on the 27th and 28th February 2025. .The first day is dedicated to the Official Address to the Legislature by His Majesty King Misuzulu KaZwelithini who will deliver his message to the House to mark the beginning of the Second Session of the Seventh KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. This is the second official address by His Majesty during the seventh term.
Rule 10(1)(a) of the KZN Legislature Standing Rules, provides that the Monarch may address the Legislature. State of the Province Address by Premier Arthur Thamsanqa Ntuli give an outline of the government policies for the year ahead in terms of rule 10(1)(b).
As we are preparing for this important event in our legislative calendar, we have invited all our key stakeholders who are always part of this auspicious event. We are happy to announce that all our stakeholders are now fully on board and have accepted our invitations. We are ready to officially commence with the annual programme of our Legislature.
Our decision to hold this session away from the Legislature precinct in the Pietermaritzburg CBD is primarily informed by space constraints in our chamber which cannot accommodate all the guests and the public. The current Legislature chamber can only accommodate 120 people in the public gallery, which will not cover the number of guests that attend the Official Opening of the Legislature.
May I further add that the Oval Cricket Stadium, which we have utilized for the past two years, is not available due to cricket fixtures which are scheduled on the dates we will be holding the Official Opening. Due to the reasons mentioned above, we had to find alternative cost-effective venue which can accommodate the number of guests we have invited including the public. After careful consideration, we agreed together with the leadership collective to utilise Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.
As the Legislature we met with His Majesty King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini to brief him about the programme last year. We met him again on Thursday to update him about the venue change for the official opening and he appreciated how the institution stayed within the legislation to ensure we deliver a successful opening. We also want to inform you that prior to the last meeting with His Majesty, we did receive a letter from the King’s Office raising security issues in respect of the chosen venue. We want to assure you that these are being attended to as part of the overall event’ security and the monarch appreciated our efforts.
Woodburn Stadium can accommodate over 3000 people and has all the facilities we need, which also includes sufficient parking. Woodburn Stadium is not new to hosting events. Previously, it has been used for the Inauguration of the Premier.
Attendance for this year’s Official Opening and SOPA will include 2000 people who will be attending over two days, comprising of the following different categories.
- VIPs: 1000 inclusive of MPLS and other categories
- Members of the Public: 200
- Officials including Media and SAPS: 500
- Amabutho, Omama and Izintombi: 190
The State of the Province Address by the Premier is integral to the official opening of the legislature, it is a government policy speech which sets out the province’s key policy objectives and priorities for the year. This address by the Premier follows the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 06 February which provided clear priorities, programmes and policy direction for the country to be implemented during the current year. The President’s address provides Members of the Legislature with an instrument to be able to exercise oversight over the provincial government to oversee whether government commitments made in SONA and SOPA are indeed implemented fully within allocated resources.
At the beginning of the year, we kicked off our annual programme with the School Functionality and Monitoring Programme, which is a critical intervention by the Legislature to ensure delivery of quality education in all our public schools. We will continue with our oversight activities throughout the year to hold the executive accountable.
The Legislature continues to conduct its work on a hybrid mode to ensure maximum participation of the people of KwaZulu-Natal. This event will be streamed live on all our social media platforms on reverse billing or data-free (meaning members of the public can stream all proceedings for free). The address will also be live on community radio stations and TV channels.
Ladies and Gentlemen, while planning the Official Opening of the Legislature, we were mindful of budget constraints and have tried to stay within budget. We also noted the fabrication of budget which has been circulated on social media that the Legislature will spend R6.6 million in hosting the Official Opening at Woodburn Stadium.
As an arm of government, that is responsible for overseeing the spending and value add of departments, we are mindful of wasteful expenditure. We are constantly looking at avenues and interventions to reduce the costs. Accordingly, we have budgeted for the King’s Address and SOPA to the tune of R4 million which falls within the constitutional mandate of the Legislature.
The costs entail audio visual setup, transport, catering, infrastructure setup and publicity. By maintaining 2000 guests, we will be able to minimize the costs and still align to the constitutional mandate of the Legislature which requires us to conduct the business of the Legislature in public and facilitate public involvement.
Ladies and gentlemen, over and above the two events mentioned above, the House will debate SOPA on the 04 March 2025 wherein all political parties participate in the debate. The debate will take place in the Legislature Chamber at Langalibalele Street in Pietermaritzburg.
As I conclude, let me reiterate our unwavering commitment as the Legislature to the full exercise of our constitutional mandate of maintaining robust oversight over the provincial government to ensure prudent spending of public resources including the provincial budget by all departments and public entities to ensure visible delivery of services to the people of KwaZulu-Natal. Our oversight tools are in place to monitor the provincial government in the form of committees and other institutions such as the Auditor-General of South Africa.
ISSUED BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE
For more information contact:
Office of the Speaker Media Liaison, Phathisa Mfuyo on 081 021 5111
