By Akani Nkuna
Parliament Secretary Xolile George has said that the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) will cost about R7 million, greatly reduced from the allocated budget of R15.5 million for 2025, of which R12.5 million was actually spent.
“Equipment alone [during SONA 2025] was R9.1 million. There is context for the huge variation of last year, versus why is it significantly less this year.
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Last year, we had to add the component of hiring the ICC — as you would know, a lot of our guests were hosted at the ICC,” he said on Wednesday.
“This year we have a marquee in front of the City Hall, and that cost driver is taken out by Public Works. So that explains the high difference of a lesser amount, because we are aiming significantly
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