Johannesburg - South Africans have begun voicing their expectations and making requests to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is set to deliver the State of the Nation Address (Sona) on February 9.
The Sona, which sets out the government's key policy objectives and deliverables for the year ahead, will again inform the public of the government’s work and further create transparency and accountability on the government's side.
It also serves as one of the crucial annual occasions for outlining interventions to unlock development interventions for the coming financial year.
With SA bearing the brunt of multiple challenges, such as unemployment, load shedding, service delivery, safety, land reform, state capture, and governance, citizens can only hope interventions will be brought in.
Different political parties and organisations have been vocal about the Sona's observations about what needs to be done to better the state and country.
ActionSA president Herman Mashaba spoke about the eagerly awaited address, highlighting the government's failure to inspire hope for the past two decades.
"On Thursday, the President will deliver his State of the Nation Address and repeat the same empty promises about creating jobs and ending load shedding. But his words will be hollow and fail to inspire hope, just as the government has failed to inspire hope for the past two decades. Enough is enough. Today, I stand before you to share a vision for a future South Africa defined by prosperity, grounded in an unwavering belief that we can and will emerge from the depths of our national despair," said Mashaba.
Iranti, an organisation that stands for the queer community, has also fiercely directed a statement to the president, revealing that the queer community needs to be acknowledged.
According to the organisation, they made an urgent appeal to Ramaphosa last year to address LGBTQIA+ issues at the Sona, but he declined.
Jabu Pereira, former executive director of Iranti, says the president has not communicated what it really means to have legal protections for LGBTQI+ people in South Africa.
"In the past, President Ramaphosa has addressed issues around gender-based violence, femicide, hate crimes, and human rights violations taking place in South Africa, particularly brutal attacks on LGBTQIA+ persons. While these efforts are noted, we are calling on the president to go further and directly address the myriad of issues facing the LGBTQIA+ community. We want the President to commit state officials and state resources to ensuring an end to discrimination and violence against LGBTQIA+ people, as envisaged by our Constitution."
Iranti says they are deeply disappointed by the lack of acknowledgement regarding the queer community in South Africa.
Agri SA spoke about food security and said the presidential government must play its part, recognising the magnitude of the threat to the nation if food security fails.
"As President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his State of the Nation Address this week, the only way to guarantee food security in South Africa will be an announcement of immediate action by government and Eskom to relieve the crippling burden of load shedding on farmers. Without urgent action, South Africans can expect crop failure, higher food prices, and shortages of certain food products in the near future. A state of disaster alone will not avert this threat — what is required is targeted relief."
The Star