PHOTO COURTESY X: @CyrilRamaphosa
President-elect Cyril Ramaphosa will be inaugurated at the Union Buildings on Wednesday, the government has announced.
This comes after Ramaphosa was elected for a second term as president during the first sitting of the National Assembly on Friday.
According to the Constitution, the president must be sworn in within five days after his or her election by the National Assembly.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee, which was set up in February to prepare for the election of the new president, said on Friday that all work has been done to prepare for the big day.
Minister in the Presidency and the committee’s chairperson, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, briefed the media on Saturday.
"The president-elect will be sworn in by the chief justice of the Republic of South Africa, Justice Raymond Zondo, and he will take an oath or affirmation which text is included in Schedule 2 of the Constitution.
“The ceremony will be staged in the Union Buildings Amphitheatre and its South Lawns.
“The arena will host national and foreign dignitaries including heads of state and government. Preparations have been made for South Africans to participate in the inauguration ceremony from the Union Buildings Southern Lawns," said Ntshavheni.
During the ceremony, the South African National Defence Force will perform the ceremonial elements including a 21-gun salute, a salute flight by the South African Air Force, an inspection of a South African National Defence Force battalion, a battalion march past, and a massed fly past.
Then the newly sworn-in president will deliver his inaugural address.
Ntshavheni described the ceremony as an important feature in a year in which South Africa marks 30 Years of democracy.
"The inauguration will bring together South Africans from all backgrounds, walks of life and political orientations, united in our diversity. It offers us an occasion to celebrate our democratic values and system of governance, including the agreed commitment of our body politic that the seventh administration will be one led by a government of national unity.
“The theme for Inauguration 2024 conveys the need for all South Africans and our partners to work together to sustain democracy, partnership and growth in our society," she said.
