Final preparations under way for Ramaphosa Opening of Parliament Address

CAPE TOWN - The final preparations have been laid for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Opening of Parliament Address (OPA).

Ramaphosa is scheduled to address a joint sitting of Parliament at the Cape Town City Hall at 7pm.

Several roads in the CBD and adjacent areas are already closed to traffic in the build up to the event.  

There is already a heavy police presence in and around Cape Town.

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Several streets around the City Hall have been cordoned off to clear the parliamentary precinct for members of Parliament, National Council of Provinces members and other guests invited to attend the OPA.

Law enforcement authorities have begun conducting security checks.

All those attending the event will undergo a mandatory search and vetting.

The seventh administrations OPA is different from those hosted in the past, as the president will have to take the policies and inputs of other political parties into consideration.

Last week, Ramaphosa and his multi-party executive convened a two-day Cabinet lekgotla to draw up a negotiated settlement on the contents of his speech and the 7th administration’s priorities.