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"title": "It was Ramaphosa’s red tie time again, like he did last summer",
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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a press release, Parliament said it had partnered with “Proudly South Africa for this year’s State of the Nation Address in support of the South African fashion industry by urging Members of Parliament and guests to wear locally produced attire”. And, indeed, some MPs and dignitaries seemed to have received the memo.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-6/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2047293 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489511-e1707455965851.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3652\" height=\"4596\" /></a> <em>Asanda Luwaca on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-4/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2047291 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489477-e1707455997953.jpg\" alt=\"Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams on the red carpet at Sona 2024\" width=\"3652\" height=\"4322\" /></a> <em>Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But from the top of politicians’ and guests’ heads, hats and headpieces looked down at the state of our country’s affairs.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There was the tiara of Miss World South Africa, Dr Claude Mashego, and the white-and-blue flower crown of Mariane Schiestl (director of Eden of Africa Lodge), but also straw hats and turbans that seemed to walk, perched high and firmly fitted on dignitaries’ heads.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-2/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2047288 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489451-e1707456064821.jpg\" alt=\"Miss World South Africa Dr Claude Mashego on the red carpet at Sona 2024\" width=\"2425\" height=\"2799\" /></a> <em>Miss World South Africa Dr Claude Mashego during of the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-8/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2047297\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489525.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"1080\" /></a> <em>Mariane Schiestl at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They advanced, feathered, beaded, embroidered, patterned, plastic-flowered, diamanté and for some, quite chic, a silent and elegant snub to the usually loud red berets.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To the customary shouts, points of order, and general chaos of <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-02-10-ramaphosas-crooked-tie-and-the-state-of-sartorial-tragedy-on-the-sona-red-carpet/\">last year’s Sona</a>, this year’s hats responded with grace and measure, to some a bit unadventurous.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-02-09-not-quite-a-sona-snoozefest-despite-ramaphosas-signature-red-tie-and-the-usual-stream-of-promises/ed_489523/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2047296\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2047296 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489523.jpg\" alt=\"Minister of Police Bheki Cele on the Sona 2024 red carpet\" width=\"720\" height=\"1080\" /></a> <em>Minister of Police Bheki Cele is interviewed on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"></div>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/9e7a9377/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2047322 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/9E7A9377.jpg\" alt=\"ANC Member Nozipho Tyobeka-Makeke on the Sona 2024 red carpet\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" /></a> <em>ANC Member Nozipho Tyobeka-Makeke arrives at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/9e7a9330/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2047318\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/9E7A9330.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" /></a> <em>Deputy Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Bernice Swarts at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"></div>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-7/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2047295 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489517-e1707456213100.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3652\" height=\"4227\" /></a> <em>A dignitary at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/9e7a9391/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2047323 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/9E7A9391.jpg\" alt=\"Senior ANC member Xolani Sotashe on the Sona red carpet in 2024\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" /></a> <em>Senior ANC member Xolani Sotashe arrives at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/9e7a9300/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2047316 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/9E7A9300.jpg\" alt=\"Deputy Minister in the Presidency Pinky Kenana on the red carpet at Sona 2024\" width=\"720\" height=\"489\" /></a> <em>Deputy Minister in the Presidency Pinky Kenana at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"></div>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2047287 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489439.jpg\" alt=\"A dignitary on the red carpet at Sona 2024\" width=\"720\" height=\"1080\" /></a> <em>A dignitary on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/ed_489475/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2047290 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489475.jpg\" alt=\"A dignitary arrives on the Sona red carpet in 2024\" width=\"3648\" height=\"5472\" /></a> <em>A dignitary arrives on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-3/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2047289\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489473.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"1080\" /></a> <em>A dignitary at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A night at the City Hall seemed to have turned into a day at the races, and then President Cyril Ramaphosa took to the stage, returning focus to the seriousness of the event.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The President was dressed in his customary pinstriped suit with a red tie, paired with a crisp white shirt — a striking imitation of his</span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-02-11-stylish-ensembles-in-short-supply-as-the-president-makes-a-bold-statement-with-his-candy-apple-red-tie/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2022 Sona outfit</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; by now, we can call it a vintage Ramaphosa outfit.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watching the address live, </span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">’s Ferial Haffajee noted: “As much as I love a bit of drama, this Sona without ‘Speaker, point of order’ and ‘Honourable Ndlozi, take your seat’ is quite nice, nè?”, to which Rebecca Davis responded: “I guess it’s a reminder of what our collective politics were like pre-2015. More boring, but also more functional?”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sartorially speaking, a search in the archives shows Cyril Ramaphosa at the 2013 State of the Nation Address sporting his habitual pinstripe suit plus white shirt, only that time topped with a bright yellow tie.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2047286\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/0000184188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"556\" /> Cyril Ramaphosa at the opening of parliament on February 14, 2013, in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images / Foto24 / Yunus Mohamed)</p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Back to the present, with the Sona now at the Cape Town City Hall, the EFF banned from attending and as the President’s speech goes on and on and on, hats start tipping slightly forward, a feather pointing lazily to the chair in front — has someone in the audience fallen asleep?</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The thing is, Ramaphosa’s promises seem to roll back every year like his red tie and pinstripe suit (praise to vintage) — and without chaos and confusion, as my colleagues pointed out, all yawns threaten to break loose.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe the President believes — with reason — that there is comfort in repetition and serenity in knowing that every year, at least on the red carpet, he will show up consistent, solid, reliably unsurprising.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or maybe it’s a</span><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/style/issey-miyake-steve-jobs-black-turtleneck.html\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Steve Jobs’ black turtleneck</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> situation: Jobs apparently chose the turtleneck because, “It was a garment that did away with an extraneous fold at the neck, that had the ease of a T-shirt and a sweatshirt but also the cool, minimal lines of a jacket”. The red tie, suit and white shirt combo might be Ramaphosa’s very own uniform of cool.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It’s his Sona signature.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On delivering the last Sona speech of the sixth administration, the President said in Zulu: “We will be back … To those who think that this is the last State of the Nation Address, we say, we will be back.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One can bet he will be back, in a pinstripe suit, white shirt and a bright red tie. </span><b>DM</b>",
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"description": "Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa is the fifth and current president of South Africa, in office since 2018. He is also the president of the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party in South Africa. Ramaphosa is a former trade union leader, businessman, and anti-apartheid activist.\r\n\r\nCyril Ramaphosa was born in Soweto, South Africa, in 1952. He studied law at the University of the Witwatersrand and worked as a trade union lawyer in the 1970s and 1980s. He was one of the founders of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), and served as its general secretary from 1982 to 1991.\r\n\r\nRamaphosa was a leading figure in the negotiations that led to the end of apartheid in South Africa. He was a member of the ANC's negotiating team, and played a key role in drafting the country's new constitution. After the first democratic elections in 1994, Ramaphosa was appointed as the country's first trade and industry minister.\r\n\r\nIn 1996, Ramaphosa left government to pursue a career in business. He founded the Shanduka Group, a diversified investment company, and served as its chairman until 2012. Ramaphosa was also a non-executive director of several major South African companies, including Standard Bank and MTN.\r\n\r\nIn 2012, Ramaphosa returned to politics and was elected as deputy president of the ANC. He was elected president of the ANC in 2017, and became president of South Africa in 2018.\r\n\r\nCyril Ramaphosa is a popular figure in South Africa. He is seen as a moderate and pragmatic leader who is committed to improving the lives of all South Africans. He has pledged to address the country's high levels of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. He has also promised to fight corruption and to restore trust in the government.\r\n\r\nRamaphosa faces a number of challenges as president of South Africa. The country is still recovering from the legacy of apartheid, and there are deep divisions along racial, economic, and political lines. The economy is also struggling, and unemployment is high. Ramaphosa will need to find a way to unite the country and to address its economic challenges if he is to be successful as president.",
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"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a press release, Parliament said it had partnered with “Proudly South Africa for this year’s State of the Nation Address in support of the South African fashion industry by urging Members of Parliament and guests to wear locally produced attire”. And, indeed, some MPs and dignitaries seemed to have received the memo.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047293\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"3652\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-6/\"><img class=\"wp-image-2047293 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489511-e1707455965851.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3652\" height=\"4596\" /></a> <em>Asanda Luwaca on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047291\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"3652\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-4/\"><img class=\"wp-image-2047291 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489477-e1707455997953.jpg\" alt=\"Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams on the red carpet at Sona 2024\" width=\"3652\" height=\"4322\" /></a> <em>Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But from the top of politicians’ and guests’ heads, hats and headpieces looked down at the state of our country’s affairs.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There was the tiara of Miss World South Africa, Dr Claude Mashego, and the white-and-blue flower crown of Mariane Schiestl (director of Eden of Africa Lodge), but also straw hats and turbans that seemed to walk, perched high and firmly fitted on dignitaries’ heads.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047288\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2425\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-2/\"><img class=\"wp-image-2047288 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489451-e1707456064821.jpg\" alt=\"Miss World South Africa Dr Claude Mashego on the red carpet at Sona 2024\" width=\"2425\" height=\"2799\" /></a> <em>Miss World South Africa Dr Claude Mashego during of the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047297\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-8/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-2047297\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489525.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"1080\" /></a> <em>Mariane Schiestl at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They advanced, feathered, beaded, embroidered, patterned, plastic-flowered, diamanté and for some, quite chic, a silent and elegant snub to the usually loud red berets.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To the customary shouts, points of order, and general chaos of <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-02-10-ramaphosas-crooked-tie-and-the-state-of-sartorial-tragedy-on-the-sona-red-carpet/\">last year’s Sona</a>, this year’s hats responded with grace and measure, to some a bit unadventurous.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047296\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-02-09-not-quite-a-sona-snoozefest-despite-ramaphosas-signature-red-tie-and-the-usual-stream-of-promises/ed_489523/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2047296\"><img class=\"wp-image-2047296 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489523.jpg\" alt=\"Minister of Police Bheki Cele on the Sona 2024 red carpet\" width=\"720\" height=\"1080\" /></a> <em>Minister of Police Bheki Cele is interviewed on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"></div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047322\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/9e7a9377/\"><img class=\"wp-image-2047322 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/9E7A9377.jpg\" alt=\"ANC Member Nozipho Tyobeka-Makeke on the Sona 2024 red carpet\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" /></a> <em>ANC Member Nozipho Tyobeka-Makeke arrives at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047318\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/9e7a9330/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-2047318\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/9E7A9330.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" /></a> <em>Deputy Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Bernice Swarts at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"></div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047295\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"3652\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-7/\"><img class=\"wp-image-2047295 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489517-e1707456213100.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3652\" height=\"4227\" /></a> <em>A dignitary at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047323\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/9e7a9391/\"><img class=\"wp-image-2047323 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/9E7A9391.jpg\" alt=\"Senior ANC member Xolani Sotashe on the Sona red carpet in 2024\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" /></a> <em>Senior ANC member Xolani Sotashe arrives at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047316\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/9e7a9300/\"><img class=\"wp-image-2047316 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/9E7A9300.jpg\" alt=\"Deputy Minister in the Presidency Pinky Kenana on the red carpet at Sona 2024\" width=\"720\" height=\"489\" /></a> <em>Deputy Minister in the Presidency Pinky Kenana at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"></div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address/\"><img class=\"wp-image-2047287 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489439.jpg\" alt=\"A dignitary on the red carpet at Sona 2024\" width=\"720\" height=\"1080\" /></a> <em>A dignitary on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047290\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"3648\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/ed_489475/\"><img class=\"wp-image-2047290 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489475.jpg\" alt=\"A dignitary arrives on the Sona red carpet in 2024\" width=\"3648\" height=\"5472\" /></a> <em>A dignitary arrives on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047289\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/president-ramaphosa-delivers-2024-state-of-the-nation-address-3/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-2047289\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_489473.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"1080\" /></a> <em>A dignitary at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A night at the City Hall seemed to have turned into a day at the races, and then President Cyril Ramaphosa took to the stage, returning focus to the seriousness of the event.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The President was dressed in his customary pinstriped suit with a red tie, paired with a crisp white shirt — a striking imitation of his</span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-02-11-stylish-ensembles-in-short-supply-as-the-president-makes-a-bold-statement-with-his-candy-apple-red-tie/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2022 Sona outfit</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; by now, we can call it a vintage Ramaphosa outfit.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watching the address live, </span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">’s Ferial Haffajee noted: “As much as I love a bit of drama, this Sona without ‘Speaker, point of order’ and ‘Honourable Ndlozi, take your seat’ is quite nice, nè?”, to which Rebecca Davis responded: “I guess it’s a reminder of what our collective politics were like pre-2015. More boring, but also more functional?”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sartorially speaking, a search in the archives shows Cyril Ramaphosa at the 2013 State of the Nation Address sporting his habitual pinstripe suit plus white shirt, only that time topped with a bright yellow tie.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2047286\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2047286\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/0000184188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"556\" /> Cyril Ramaphosa at the opening of parliament on February 14, 2013, in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images / Foto24 / Yunus Mohamed)[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Back to the present, with the Sona now at the Cape Town City Hall, the EFF banned from attending and as the President’s speech goes on and on and on, hats start tipping slightly forward, a feather pointing lazily to the chair in front — has someone in the audience fallen asleep?</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The thing is, Ramaphosa’s promises seem to roll back every year like his red tie and pinstripe suit (praise to vintage) — and without chaos and confusion, as my colleagues pointed out, all yawns threaten to break loose.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe the President believes — with reason — that there is comfort in repetition and serenity in knowing that every year, at least on the red carpet, he will show up consistent, solid, reliably unsurprising.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or maybe it’s a</span><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/style/issey-miyake-steve-jobs-black-turtleneck.html\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Steve Jobs’ black turtleneck</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> situation: Jobs apparently chose the turtleneck because, “It was a garment that did away with an extraneous fold at the neck, that had the ease of a T-shirt and a sweatshirt but also the cool, minimal lines of a jacket”. The red tie, suit and white shirt combo might be Ramaphosa’s very own uniform of cool.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It’s his Sona signature.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On delivering the last Sona speech of the sixth administration, the President said in Zulu: “We will be back … To those who think that this is the last State of the Nation Address, we say, we will be back.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One can bet he will be back, in a pinstripe suit, white shirt and a bright red tie. </span><b>DM</b>",
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Asanda Luwaca on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)
Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)
Miss World South Africa Dr Claude Mashego during of the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)
Mariane Schiestl at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)
Minister of Police Bheki Cele is interviewed on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)
ANC Member Nozipho Tyobeka-Makeke arrives at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)
Deputy Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Bernice Swarts at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)
A dignitary at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)
Senior ANC member Xolani Sotashe arrives at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)
Deputy Minister in the Presidency Pinky Kenana at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Victoria O'Regan)
A dignitary on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)
A dignitary arrives on the red carpet at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)
A dignitary at the 2024 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)
Cyril Ramaphosa at the opening of parliament on February 14, 2013, in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images / Foto24 / Yunus Mohamed)