President Cyril Ramaphosa makes a quick lunch takeaway stop at the Palace Fisheries in Saltriver, Cape Town in between his meetings and preparations ahead of the State of the Nation Address scheduled to take place this Thursday, 20th June 2019. Photo: Elmond Jiyane / GCIS;
In photos: Ramaphosa enjoys Cape Town favourite, a fish ‘n chips parcel
Part of the President’s preparations for SONA.
President Cyril Ramaphosa makes a quick lunch takeaway stop at the Palace Fisheries in Saltriver, Cape Town in between his meetings and preparations ahead of the State of the Nation Address scheduled to take place this Thursday, 20th June 2019. Photo: Elmond Jiyane / GCIS;
President Cyril Ramaphosa, while in Cape Town preparing for the much-anticipated State of The Nation Address (SONA), enjoyed a local favourite – a fish and chips parcel.
Preparations for the SONA were well underway on Tuesday evening as Capetonians were treated to members of the SA National Defence Force practising their marching precision and musical finesse in the streets of the CBD.
Preparations for second SONA of 2019
Several roads were closed as the khaki-clad soldiers, with rifles in hand, were put through their paces by their commanding officers.
The soldiers will participate in the military parade that will form part of the ceremonial aspect of the opening of Parliament on Thursday following the May general elections.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will then deliver his third SONA at 7pm on Thursday.
Ramaphosa was expected to be putting finishing touches to his speech. He took time out to speak to Capetonians as he visited a fishery in Salt River and engaged with residents of the Mother City during lunchtime on Tuesday.
Read: Cape Town traffic alert: Road closures for SONA 2019, starting Tuesday 18 June
Ramaphosa enjoys fish ‘n chips parcel
Ramaphosa bought a fish and chips parcel then interacted with residents, who clamoured for selfies with the country’s first citizen.
Speaking to eNCA after ordering his lunch, the President deftly sidestepped a question about internal squabbles within the ruling party which according to reports saw the deployment of African National Congress (ANC) members of Parliament (MPs) to chair parliamentary oversight committees delayed.
Ramaphosa insisted he would put the country first.
“In terms of party relations, yes I’m president of the ANC but I’m president of South Africa, elected by more than 10 million people when the party got 57 percent of the vote. It means that more than 10 million have invested their hope in the ANC.
When I do speak on Thursday, it will be speaking to all South Africans as the state president. Parties are vehicles to enable democracy to work. They are important but in this case, let us focus on the message we are going to put forward to South Africans.”
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Devereaux Morkel
