Opposition political parties have slammed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2024 State of the Nation Address, saying it was an African National Congress (ANC) election manifesto disguised as Sona, with the same old recycled promises.
Ramaphosa delivered his eighth Sona at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday, free of any interruption after the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) announced it would be boycotting it after the party failed in its court bid to overturn a ban on five MPs including leader Julius Malema from attending the affair after they stormed the stage last year.
Ramaphosa’s near two hour long address was filled with promises about how the government would fix entities such as Eskom, Transnet and the National Prosecuting Authority, while it also made promises on the social welfare front and promises at strengthening the green revolution.
Ramaphosa also spoke about how over a million young people had been assisted to work opportunities through the Youth Employment Stimulus programmes and other interventions, such as teacher assistant posts at over 23,000 schools.
The United Democratic Movement’s Nqabayomzi Kwankwa said Ramaphosa's speech was “a campaign speech that went wrong”.
“What the president wanted to do was launch the ANC campaign. They have had 30 years to build this South Africa they are talking of, but they have not done it,” Kwankwa said.
“We did not leave with the feeling that the ANC has taken ownership of the mess they have created.”
Inkatha Freedom Party Leader, Velenkosini Hlabisa, said the speech was a “joke, tantamount to an admission of failure”.
“He delivered a manifesto, making promises after promises, there was nothing new,” he said.
Democratic Alliance (DA) Youth Leader, Nicholas Nathi, said the president had “no plan” and said there was “no solution from this ANC government”.
“If you want to fight crime, why is [Police Minister] Bheki Cele still there?” he said to the SABC News.
African Transformation Movement (ATM) Leader, Vuyo Zungula, said by all indications, Ramaphosa had failed since he took office in 2018.
He also said Ramaphosa spoke about fighting State Capture as if he was not there.
“When he speaks about State Capture he speaks as if he wasn't there. Some of the people implicated are serving in his Cabinet,” he said.
GOOD party’s Brett Herron said Ramaphosa failed to deliver a coherent plan, but they were encouraged by promises pertaining to the green economy and energy just transition.
“The big failure is not being bold on the basic income grant for those who cannot find work in an economy that is not creating jobs,” said Herron, who said the treasury could afford to fund about 12 million people with a R1,000 monthly BIG grant.
ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe, who is also Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, said the president was simply being accountable by giving feedback on past promises.
Mantashe defended Ramaphosa by saying he was accounting on things that have been done and things they wanted to do.
“We have authorised more renewables than any other administration. It is us who have said bring more base load - coal, nuclear and gas, if we focus on those, we will solve the problem,” he said.
IOL News