ANC's Jessie Duarte says SONA deserves respect
ANC deputy Secretary-General Jessie Duarte says the State of the Nation Address does not belong to any political party.
Speaking at Parliament ahead of this evening's speech by the president, Duarte said the occasion is for all South Africans and must be accorded the respect it deserves.
"Sona is in fact a time when Parliament represents itself to the people of South Africa and it's important that we understand and we preserve this moment.
"It comes once a year and you know what we need to do is to respect that we have the opportunity to raise our issues throughout the year in debates and when we can't influence each other through debate, we must respect that as well," she said.
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(File photo: Getty Images)