The State of the Nation Address (SONA) is an annual address given by the president of South Africa. It speaks to where the country presently finds itself socially, economically and politically. It also speaks to the high-level objectives that the incumbent government has for the current year and years to come.

South Africans wait with baited breath as the 2019 SONA is set to be delivered this evening. What one would think is your run-of-the-mill address by the president is in actual fact quite a spectacle. The SONA comes with a lavish display of red carpets, couture fashion and even a gala dinner. It has many ordinary South Africans asking: just who do these politicians think they are?

However, the 2019 SONA is reportedly set to be the cheapest in over five years. President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to give comment on unemployment, poverty and investment, among other pertinent issues.

In the past, the SONA has been a bona fide circus as politicians have come to blows and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have, in their characteristic fashion, disrupted the proceedings and been escorted out by security. The past SONAs have been a disgraceful display of political clout and a genuine disregard for the millions of South Africans watching.

South Africa is currently embroiled in an elaborate labyrinth of corruption that is being uncovered in the explosive Bosasa trial, headed up by the Zondo Commission of Inquiry. The sporadic arrests of politicians by the specialized crime unit, the Hawks, have left South Africans wondering whether there will be any of that drama at the SONA this evening.

South Africans share some of their feelings about the 2019 SONA on social media.