Sona 2023: Ramaphosa must explain why previous promises were not implemented

Opposition parties yesterday expressed no faith in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) going far enough to address the real issues faced by South Africa.

And labour and organs of civil society implored the government to subsidise the poor, insulating struggling communities against the impact of soaring electricity and food prices.

Empty promises

Downplaying any optimism that Sona would go to the heart of a myriad of challenges facing the country – embattled state-owned enterprises, load shedding, youth unemployment, corruption and high crime levels – Freedom Front Plus leader Dr Pieter Groenewald said SA has had “enough of empty promises”.

Groenewald said Ramaphosa could not “simply repeat the same plans and promises he made in previous Sona” and challenged the president to explain the lack of implementation.

He said: “Empty promises by ANC heads of state have formed a pattern where the same plans are rehashed, tweaked a little, every year to try and fool the public.

“An example is the 2022 promise that more will be done to create a favourable environment for the private sector in order to stimulate economic growth. Nothing came of it.

“On the contrary, along with administrative red tape, the suffocating screws of black economic empowerment and affirmative action have only been turned tighter. That is evident in the Employment Equity Amendment Bill, which was passed last year.”

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Groenewald added that legislation like this caused SA’s private sector and the country’s economy unmeasurable damage.

“The president’s promises and reality are obviously two vastly different things,” he said.

Ramaphosa, said Groenewald, must say why previous promises were not implemented, announcing decisive plans for stimulating the economy.

He continued: “The president must be very honest about theongoing power crisis and he must put forward government’s plans to address it in great detail.”

Vulindlela report and remote-working visas

The Democratic Alliance’s Cayla Murray called for “an update on the Vulindlela report and remote-working visas”. The Vulindlela unit was created to address obstacles or delays to ensure execution on government’s policy commitments, and reports to the president and minister of finance.

“In his 2022 Sona, President Ramaphosa committed to the establishment of a remote-working visa that would make it easier for visitors to enter the country.

“A year later, the remote-working visa has yet to be implemented, depriving our economy of significant revenue,” said Murray.

SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) spokesperson Trevor Shaku implored Ramaphosa to alleviate the plight of the poor through electricity subsidies. Steep electricity prices and the lack of connectivity to the grid perpetuated “energy poverty for ordinary working-class households”.

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He said: “Saftu expects President Ramaphosa to wholly subsidise the recently announced tariff increase of 18.56%.

“Many people who live in informal settlements are not connected to the grid. When they connect through dangerous connections – something that continuously electrocutes children in such communities – they are condemned by local governments.

“President Ramaphosa must ensure that all settlements are formalised and connected to the grid to end the first part of their energy poverty,” said Shaku.

Electricity tariffs had grown “by over 800% since 2007, if we factor in the recent approved tariff of 18.56%, increasing energy poverty”.

Saftu, said Shaku, “has lost confidence in the ability and capacity of the ANC government to steer the country on the path of economic and social development”.

Ramaphosa must resolve electricity crisis

Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said: “The economy needs reliable and affordable electricity. Government needs to move with much greater speed to resolve the electricity crisis.

“The progress we have made will be lost if load shedding is not urgently brought under control. The economy cannot grow without reliable and affordable electricity.”

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Cosatu welcomed Ramaphosa’s endorsement of its call for a state of disaster to be declared.

“This will send a positive message to society that the government is responding to this crisis with the urgency it deserves.

“It will help to concentrate the government’s attention on ending load shedding and ensure that Eskom has the tools it needs to stabilise the grid and expand energy generation,” said Pamla.

– brians@citizen.co.za