President Cyril Ramaphosa will be speaking to a “demoralised nation” when he delivers his State of the Nation Address (Sona) at the formal opening of Parliament on Thursday.
Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) CEO Wayne Duvenage said Ramaphosa would be addressing “a nation demoralised by load-shedding, by frightening levels of unemployment, poverty and crime, by the collapse of water and sewerage infrastructure and rail systems, and by politicians who focus on infighting and personal power to the exclusion of delivering services.”
“Now that Cyril Ramaphosa has cemented his role as the ruling party president for another five-year term, the time is overdue for the nation to see the results of the previous promises rather than adding to the list with more empty promises,” Duvenage said.
“The Edelman Trust barometer has for many years indicated that South Africans have one of the lowest rates of trust in its government, with distrust as the default position. If the president continues to make empty promises, he will continue to widen this gap. We need believable implementation of the many plans that are promised. We need impact,” he said.
The “essentials” the organisation expects Ramaphosa to address include:
- The Eskom crisis, including a funded plan to end load-shedding that does not include overpriced projects (such as the Karpowership scheme), a clear direction on resolving Eskom’s debt burden, and the advancement of Eskom’s unbundling;
- Significant support to strengthen the criminal justice system and institutions hollowed out by state capture, and action to implement the recommendations of the State Capture Commission to combat corruption and organised crime syndicates;
- A reshuffled Cabinet, with the removal of obstructionist incompetence and the appointment of competent leaders who put the country’s interests ahead of their own;
- Significantly enhanced protection for whistleblowers;
- Help for businesses and individuals left floundering by the stagnant economy and the collapse of Eskom and state services.
He said last year Ramaphosa had spoken about the country being at a turning point and the need for a new consensus to drive collective effort to tackle poverty, unemployment and inequality. However, he said this had not been followed up with meaningful engagement with citizens and civil society organisations.
He added that the president had also promised a revival of economic growth and job creation in his previous Sonas, yet little had changed.
