SONA to be held at City Hall (again) as Dome repairs fall behind schedule

President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address (SONA) will again be delivered at Cape Town City Hall next Thursday.

Despite promises by Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson that repairs to the Nieuwmeester Dome would be completed in time for the SONA, that doesn't seem to be the case.

“The Dome has not been ready for almost two years now," says political correspondent Tara Roos 

Originally used in 2013 for former president Nelson Mandela’s funeral, it was moved from Pretoria to Cape Town in 2024 for parliamentary sittings while the National Assembly is rebuilt.

But it was used for only two months last year before repairs commenced.

The R30 million bill to reconstruct the dome has been split between Parliament and the Department of Public Works, with the former saying it will serve as a temporary venue for parliamentary activities until the completion of the Parliament rebuilding project. 

Parliament has operated without a permanent chamber for nearly three years following a fire at the start of 2022.

"Mere hours before Dean MacPherson was due to hand over the dome to the speaker, the dome was not done."

According to the Parliament website, National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza will officially receive the refurbished Nieuwmeester Dome from Dean Macpherson tomorrow (Friday).

"Will the Dome be done? We're going to have to wait and see!" says Roos.

To listen to Roos in conversation with CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit, use the audio player below: