AT LEAST 18 heads of State and government — including President Emmerson Mnangagwa — as well as three former heads of State and government, and nine heads of delegation are expected to attend the inauguration of presidentelect Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria today.
According to the SA Presidency, the countries expected to be represented at the inauguration include Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Tanzania, Uganda, China, Egypt, Palestine and Cuba.
Among the early arrivals yesterday were Burundi’s prime minister Gervais Ndirakobuca, and Cuban vice-president Salvador Mesa. Ramaphosa will be inaugurated at the Union Buildings in Tshwane. The swearing-in will be conducted by the country’s chief justice, Raymond Zondo, in the Nelson Mandela Amphitheatre.
The SA Presidency said the theme for the occasion was “30 years of democracy, partnership and growth”. Other attendees would include representatives of regional, continental and international organisations and bodies such as Sadc, the AU and the UN.
Meanwhile, Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) said the passenger terminal arrivals road and cargo road at OR Tambo International Airport would be closed from Tuesday until Saturday, as a safety and security precautionary measure to facilitate the arrival and departure of the attending heads of State.
To properly manage the flow of traffic, Acsa said vehicles on airport roads would be diverted by Ekurhuleni metro police to the departures (upper) road and parade 2 south, levels 2 and 3, for pickup and drop-off.
At the same time, the City of Tshwane also announced street closures in the vicinity of the Union Buildings, as well as the nearby suburbs of Sunnyside and Hatfield from 3am today to 6am on Thursday. Tshwane metro police spokesperson, Isaac Mahamba, said traffic officers would be deployed with other law enforcement agencies to monitor the street closures. — Timeslive