Staff Reporter
Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela is expected to deliver her State of the Province Address (SOPA) this morning to mark the official opening of the provincial legislature for this year.
The speech, which will set the tone for the province’s socio-economic programmes for the year, will likely touch on the province’s high unemployment rate which now stands at over 33.4 percent, the third highest rate in the country, the poor state of the roads, municipalities, education and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the province, among others.
SOPA is a very important annual event marking the official opening of the provincial legislature. It allows the Premier to report on the main activities of the province over the past year as well as outline proposed programmes for the year ahead.
It’s essentially anchored on the State of the Nation Address delivered by the president at the opening of parliament every year.
However, this year’s activities around SOPA have been hugely scaled down in line with the COVID-19 health protocols and very few people will be allowed to attend the event. It will be streamed live on various social media platforms.