Time to vote for the SA you want

You just can’t make this up. Moments after President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed the end of rolling blackouts was in sight at his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday, the nation were promptly “gifted” a higher stage of load shedding, ensuring South Africans sat in the dark wondering if the president was living in a dream world, or whether his lengthy monologue was just a cheap electioneering stunt before the upcoming polls.

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Many political parties were justifiably critical of yet another Ramaphosa speech, labelling it “recycled promises”, “a campaign speech that went wrong” and “a distorted view of what the ANC have achieved over the last 30 years”.

Seemingly oblivious to reality, Ramaphosa boldly declared “we are confident that the worst is behind us and the end of load shedding is finally within reach”. Really, Mr President? Before all the colourfully clad ministers could get to the Sona afterparty,

Eskom ramped up load shedding from stage 2 to 3 and, then, while “our honourable members” were probably nursing hangovers yesterday morning, it was escalated to stage 4.

Who in their right mind believes load shedding could be fixed by 2025? Probably just the president, his Cabinet, the ruling party and his speech writers.

A VIEW OF THE WEEK: ‘Ill’ Ramaphosa’s Sona was a prescription for a sketchy future and false reality

The power crisis is very real. No concrete solutions have led us to believe this could end any time soon. The president spoke for what seemed an eternity.

But perhaps the most compelling part of his speech came when he said: “As we move forward, let us remember that it is up to us – not anyone else – to determine the future of South Africa. We are not passive observers of our history.

We are its authors. We are the builders of this country we call home.” South Africans will have a chance to be the authors of determining the future of this country – one way or another – when they cast their vote. And vote, we must.