Jacob Zuma to be inaugurated a

Jacob Zuma to be inaugurated as president on Saturday 24 May

Members of Parliament, current and former Heads of State and other eminent persons are expected to attend the presidential inauguration in Pretoria on 24 May.

Jacob Zuma to be inaugurated a


Thousands of people are expected to attend the inauguration of Jacob Zuma as South African President on Saturday 24 May, following the ANC’s victory in last week’s fifth democratic elections.

Zuma will be sworn in as President elect at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Government expects thousands of people to show up for the ceremony, with 4,500 people to be accommodated at the Nelson Mandela Amphitheatre, including Members of Parliament, current and former Heads of State and Government and eminent persons.

Minister for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration and Chairperson of the Inauguration Inter-Ministerial Committee, Collins Chabane, would not be drawn on which well-known names were on the guest list. Those that have been invited, he said, were still replying to the invitations.

The remaining guests will be accommodated on the Southern Lawns of the Union Buildings, while other members of the public will be able to follow proceedings on live television, radio broadcasts and public viewing areas at 47 sites across the country.

The inauguration ceremony is scheduled to get underway at 11am.

The cost implications of the ceremony, said the minister, in response to a question, will be “far less than the cost implications of the inaugurations that took place before”.

Ahead of the inauguration, the National Assembly will convene its first sitting next Wednesday, where members of Parliament will be sworn in.

This will be followed by the swearing in of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and the President of the Republic. According to the Constitution, the President should be sworn in within five days of being elected by the National Assembly.

By the time the inauguration takes place, the nine provinces would have elected their Premiers and provincial delegates to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), which will have its first sitting on 22 May.