Opposition parties have no praises to sing for President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) taking place Thursday, 6 February 2025, at 7 pm. The address will take place before a joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament.
A FALSE DAWN
According to the Presidency, in the address, Ramaphosa will set out the government's key policy objectives and deliverables for the year ahead, flag challenges and outline interventions to unlock South Africa's potential. The Democratic Alliance leader, John Steenhuisen, said there was nothing better to look forward to at SONA. He has dismissed Ramaphosa's presidency as a comedy sitcom. "The 'New Dawn' is a false dawn. Ramaphosa was a delusion. Your supposed commitment to reform was hollow. Unemployment is at its peak and has gone from 36% to 43% since Ramaphosa became president in 2018. Murders have increased by 20% over the same period, with 70 people murdered in the country every day. As we all know, rolling power blackouts have become a permanent feature of life in the Ramaphosa era. The president is too weak, too indecisive and too cowardly to take on the cadres, the compromised, and the vested interests in the political party he leads," said Steenhuisen, whose party is part of the government of national unity.
A MAN-MADE CRISIS
The Economic Freedom Fighters' Julius Malema said the country is in the middle of a man-made crisis. Malema also expressed the high rate of unemployment, stating that 12 million capable South Africans are looking for jobs. "Unemployment in South Africa is too high. The South African Post Office has announced that it will be worsening the crisis of unemployment through the retrenchment of more than 6,000 workers," he said. The fact that South Africa has close to 20 million people who are dependent on social grants should not be celebrated, particularly when viewed from the fact that these social grants do not eliminate poverty."
FROM BAD TO WORSE
Vuyo Zungula from the African Transformation Movement accused Ramaphosa of failing to lead South Africa to prosperity and that everything has moved from bad to worse under this presidency. "For many years, we have observed that these speeches have become nothing more than glitzy events where politicians dress up, make grand promises and return to business as usual while ordinary South Africans face darkness, hunger, unemployment, and crumbling services. The so-called Government of National Unity (GNU), a cosmetic coalition of the ANC, DA and other parties, was supposed to bring stability and progress. Instead, it's a circus where leaders can't agree on critical issues like healthcare, education and land reform. When progress is suggested, coalition partners reject it. What kind of unity is that? Unity must be based on objectives and purpose for the betterment of the marginalised majority," Zungula said.
