The spokesperson for the Free State Legislature, Life Mokone, says preparations for the day are already underway, with the team tasked with ticking some of the logistics off the list, having had already been established.

Last year, the SOPA, was surprisingly held at the Fourth Raadsaal, which is located in the Bloemfontein city centre after many years, as a cost-cutting measure. Mokone says while their intention is to continue containing costs, they want to accommodate more people, hence the selection of the stadium.

In 2019, the Free State Legislature capped the number of media personnel to thirty due to the Raadsaal’s limited space. Mokone reveals in fact 80 media houses/ personnel had requested access to the address, with the vast majority ending up outside.

He says not more than 2000 guests are expected for this year’s much anticipated Sopa. About 70% of the guests will Premier Sisi Ntombela's invitees, while the remaining seats will go to Speaker, Zanele Sifuba’s guests and the public.

Mokone says both Sifuba and Ntombela are interested in having more young people present at the Sopa, in light of the recent success and opportunities availed to the youth – the Free State regained its top spot, as the number one performing province in the 2019 matric results released earlier this year.

The province’s impoverished youth will, however be looking to Ntombela’s address to answer concerns over the province’s soaring unemployment rate and sluggish economic growth. 

At one stage in 2019 –specifically Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) labour figures for 2019’s quarter - the Free State had the highest unemployment figures in Central South Africa. The province’s unemployment rate stood at close to 35%, more than 8% higher than both the North West and the Northern Cape provinces at the time. The next quarterly labour survey will be released on 11 February 2020, 14 days before Ntombela addresses the province.

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