Poland in South Africa

In February each year, the country's capital and political life moves from Pretoria to Cape Town. Ministers, politicians, heads of diplomatic missions, experts and political journalists come in large numbers to Cape Town for several weeks. The main reason for this gathering is SONA - the president's message on the state of the nation, addressed to members of the combined chambers of parliament.

This year's SONA was traditionally turbulent. The extreme left-wing party EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters), whose members appear in red overalls and red berets, interrupted the meeting, demanding the resignation of Pravin Gordhan, the Minister of State Enterprises, and the removal of the last president from the apartheid's period, Frederik Willem de Klerk, from the parliamentary room. De Klerk had fallen into disgrace with his opponents a few days earlier, stating in an interview that apartheid was not a crime against humanity, because during its duration there was no crime of genocide.

As every year, the ceremony of the inauguration of parliament work stood out with its finesse and coloring, probably unprecedented of in any other parliament in the world. The stunning attires of the female Members of the Parliament aroused widespread interest and admiration. A unique fashion show in the Hollywood style, which can only be compared with the Oscars and Grammy Awards. The splendid accent of the solemn parliament session was the presence of Zozibini Tunzi, a beautiful girl from a poor village in the Eastern Cape province, who won the Miss Universe crown last December and became a source of pride for South African youth.

An important event within SONA was, as usual, the "Ubuntu" gala, during which the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs awarded the individuals and institutions who have contributed greatly to the promotion of the "South Africa" brand in the world. The performance of the singing duo Mafikizolo consisting of Theo Kgosinkwe and Nhlanhla Nciza added splendor to this year's gala which was honoured by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The musicians are multiple times winners of the South African Music Award, including the awards for Best Duo or Group of the Year.

Of course, SONA is not just a ceremonial event.  For diplomats visiting Cape Town, February is always a month of hard work due to the rich program of accompanying events. Many of the diplomats took part in ongoing debates in parliament, during which representatives of political parties communicated their opinions and reservations to the president, and week later they took part in a special session during which the president responded to the accusations and presented the government's position on the comments.

The celebrations, conventionally called SONA, also abound in events from outside the world of politics - exhibitions, concerts, promotions, performances.

This year, almost all heads of diplomatic missions actively responded to the invitation of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, Prof. Mamokgethi Phakeng to attend a meeting with the university authorities. The main speaker was the new Chancellor of UCT Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe who took this honorable post last fall replacing Graça Mahel, ex-wife of Nelson Mandela. The meeting which lasted several hours served as a forum for the presentation of the university's scientific and educational achievements, its development plans and cooperation with foreign universities.

Similarly, presentations organized on subsequent days during separate meetings of the diplomatic corps with the Prime Minister of the Western Cape Alan Winde and the President of Cape Town Alderman Dan Plato attracted wide interest. As befits democratic customs, the ambassadors also met with the leader of the largest opposition party Democratic Alliance and learned about the party's position on the current political and economic situation in South Africa and anticipated scenarios for further development.

A separate, extensive program was implemented by the heads of political departments of the missions of European Union countries. It included several meetings and discussion panels with the participation of authorities from academic circles and think tanks. The dominant themes concerned land and land reform, the process of national reconciliation, state capture, balanced socio-economic development, infrastructure and energy reform. The group of EU ambassadors also hosted meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Naledi Pandor and the Minister for Settlement, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu.

The final accent of this year's SONA, was the speech delivered by the Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni in the last week of February presenting the draft budget bill in parliament.

The next SONA will take place in a year time, February 2021, and it will certainly abound with numerous events, not less than this year.