Johannesburg - The South African government has vowed to spend less than R150 million for the inauguration of President Cyril Ramaphosa compared to the R240m it spent for the inauguration of former president Jacob Zuma in 2014.
This was revealed on Thursday by Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma - the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation - who is heading the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the inauguration. She was briefing the nation about their preparations for the official inauguration of Ramaphosa following the ANC victory during the May 8 national elections.
Dlamini Zuma said government’s cost containment measures had forced to cut their budget for the inauguration by more than R100m.
Ramaphosa is due to be inaugurated on May 25 which coincides with the continental celebrations of Africa Day. It is also the birth of the African Union forerunner Organisations of African Unity which was formed in Ethiopia in 1963.
She said prior to the inauguration, the country will have its first sitting of parliament on May 22 where 400 parliamentarians will be sworn in.
Afterwards, the MPs will then elect a president who will then officially take an oath of office at a ceremony to be held at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria.
The inauguration will be held under the theme - Together celebrating democracy: Renewal and growth for a better South Africa.
Dlamini Zuma said the inauguration will be attended by all heads of states of the Southern African Development Community who have been invited to witness the occasion.
“The guests also include representatives from the continental regional economic blocks, former liberation movements, fraternal countries, the African Union, the United Nations, members of the diplomatic corps and eminent persons and former presidents of South Africa,” Dlamini Zuma said.