By BAKANG MOKOTO
29 January 2026- Government Communication and Information Service (GCIS) said it is hosting country-wide community activities as part of raising and educating the public on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) and what the public can expect to hear from the President’ speech.
The GCIS said SONA is an annual event, in which the President of South Africa addresses the nation on the programmes of government.
Ndlelantle Pinyana who is Chief Director: Provincial and Local Liaison in the GCIS said the address is delivered at a Joint Sitting of Parliament, including both the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and focuses on the current political and socio-economic state of the nation. Pinyana said the speech marks the opening of the Parliamentary programme and attracts interest from various stakeholders nationally and internationally as it sets the government agenda for the forthcoming year.
“GCIS in collaboration with other stakeholders will host outreaches in the form of activations, community media engagements, dialogues (i.e. Access to Information, Community Radio, Community TV, Mall and Taxi Rank Activations, Road Intersection Activations, School Activation, support to Mayors and Provincial State of the Provincial Address), as well as Public Educations sessions and civic education awareness to encourage the public to participate and follow the 2026 SONA through mainstream media, and online and digital platforms.
“GCIS will also be encouraging the public to comment on what they would want the President to say during his speech and subsequent SONA reply to the debate post SONA,” he said.
Pinyana further said the outreaches aim to encourage members of the public to participate in the upcoming SONA by watching TV, listening to community media or being part of the event through social media by following #SoNA2026 on various social media platforms. He added that the outreaches will also be encouraging and collation of data from the public on what they expect the government and the President to urgently address.
The Guardian 