With a general election looming later this year and poll after poll showing a dramatic decline in support of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), President Cyril Ramaphosa was under pressure to deliver an inspiring State of the Nation Address (SONA) last night.
In delivering the last SONA of the 6th democratic administration at City Hall, Ramaphosa highlighted key challenges such as the electricity crisis, state corruption and unemployment, especially amongst the youth.
Ramaphosa kicked off by blaming state capture for many of his headaches, saying that it was perhaps the greatest damage caused to the country.
He said: “The effects of state capture continue to be felt across society, from the shortage of freight locomotives to crumbling public services, from the poor performance of our power stations to failed development projects.”
He noted that over 200 suspects are being prosecuted and more are under investigation, with around R8.6 billion in corrupt proceeds have been returned to the state.
But according to Ramaphosa, the end of load shedding is in sight, as the National Energy Crisis Committee has delivered new power through private investment onto the grid, already helping to reduce load shedding.
“Through tax incentives and financial support, we have more than doubled the amount of rooftop solar capacity installed across the country in just the past year.”
He also promised that “with our abundance of solar, wind and mineral resources, we are going to create thousands of jobs in renewable energy, green hydrogen, green steel, electric vehicles and other green products”.
He added: “We have decided to support electric vehicle manufacturing in South Africa to grow our automotive sector, which provides good jobs to thousands of workers.
“We have decided to give special focus to regions like Mpumalanga to enable the creation of new industries, new economic opportunities and sustainable jobs.”
Social Grants
Ramaphosa insisted that social grants and subsidies “are an investment in the future” and government will be extending it for poor mense, saying: “In the midst of the pandemic, we introduced the SRD Grant, which currently reaches some 9 million people every month.”
He dismissed criticism that SA is turning into a dependent nation saying: “Social assistance has been shown to increase school enrolment and attendance, lower drop-out rates, and improve the pass rate.”
Health
Ramaphosa said the National Health Insurance Bill has been passed by Parliament and is on his desk.
“I’m looking for a pen!” he joked as the ANC cheered and the DA booed.
According to government, the NHI will provide free healthcare at the point of care for all South Africans, whether in public or private health facilities.
Unemployment
The Presidential Employment Stimulus has created more than 1.7 million work and livelihood opportunities.
More than 1 million school assistants have been placed in 23 000 schools.
The SAYouth.mobi enables unemployed young people to access opportunities for learning and earning.
Over 4.3 million young people are now engaged on the network and 1.6 million have so far secured opportunities.
Crime
Over the last two years, 20 000 police officers have been recruited with another 10 000 in the year to come. An extra 5 000 police officers have been deployed to Public Order Policing.
SAPS launched Operation Shanela as a new approach to target crime hotspots, which resulted in over 285 000 arrests since May last year.
Ramaphosa said: “We launched the new Border Management Authority last year, and have stopped over 100 000 people who tried to enter our country illegally.”
Good vibes
Nearing the end of his speech, Ramaphosa highlighted exceptional South Africans, such as Tyla, who won a Grammy for her song Water, the Springboks, and Bafana Bafana and said they have inspired the nation.
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