EFF slams Ramaphosa's SONA address as 'a political campaign launch'

While Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said that the intervention of the SANDF to the Western Cape and Gauteng were appreciated, President Cyril Ramaphosa's 2026 State of the Nation Address (Sona) was an electioneering tactic.

During his speech, Ramaphosa gave a dense speech, which Malema characterised as having “energy” in which he announced the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) would be deployed to support the police in tackling rampant gang violence and illegal mining operations in the Western Cape and Gauteng.

He also stated that employers who hire foreign nationals without the required permits or visas will face the full force of the law, as the government plans to appoint 10,000 additional labour inspectors this year, and that the government is in the final stages of establishing a national water infrastructure agency, and damaged infrastructure is being repaired.

A total of R156 billion has been committed to the development of construction and water resource infrastructure over the next three years.

Reacting to the address, Malema said that gangsterism has taken over the streets of the country's townships, and that the deployment of the SANDF “is a confirmation that the South African Police Services (SAPS) have dismally failed”.

“The president is just scared to say they've lost confidence in the SAPS, hence the army, and we are happy that the army is coming. We are going to restore law and order.

“The rest of the things that he's talking about, he has been saying those things. Today, the difference is that he's saying them with energy,” Malema said.

“Why does he talk about trillions in water? He spoke about billions in water, billions have been thrown into the Giyani Water Project, (but) there is still no water. So to utter trillions, from a speech, it doesn't translate for our people.”

Malema also criticised the president's use of task teams, saying that his implementation of “task team after task team” is evidence of “a person who's failing to execute their own responsibility, and they shift it to other people”.

“It's a confirmation that he doesn't have the necessary capacity in the GNU to deal with issues that he wants to deal with. We are here again, listening to a man who is using a government platform during an election year, to launch a campaign for his political party.”

IFP Spokesperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, who is also the Deputy Minister of Transport, said that the president gave a balanced account of where the country stands, acknowledging the impact of the GNU.

“It is important for us that he has spoken about the issues of illegal immigration, which continues to be a very adverse burden on the economy, on opportunities for South Africans.”

He also acknowledged deployment of the SANDF, which is an admission “that there is a serious collapse in the SAPS, and the president is now finding himself having to put in a number of interventions before fighting crime, to first clean up the SAPS so that it is fit-for-purpose”.

He also acknowledged the water crises faced by municipalities across the country.

“We fundamentally believe that declaring this a National State of Disaster should be followed speedily with resources, skills and expertise.”

Leader of the DA, John Steenhuisen who is also the Agriculture Minister, said that they are procuring millions of vaccines and will get it to where it is needed to tackle the Foot-and-Mouth Disease crisis, and that by the end of the year they hope to have vaccinated about 80% of the targeted herd, and reduced incidents by 70%.

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za