Ramaphosa tells Shivambu to go to the ground ‘for a taste of reality’

President Cyril Ramaphosa has hit back at Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) deputy president Floyd Shivambu’s comments about the president’s apparent fictional reality.

In a debate on Ramaphosa’s plan of action at the Cape Town City Hall on Friday, Shivambu criticised Ramaphosa for ‘recycling the same promises’ made years earlier, including job creation.

He claimed the president was selling a fictitious story to South Africans and called for the president to be nominated for a South African Film and Television Award (Saftas).

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“I want to propose that we should nominate Cyril Ramaphosa for Saftas for Best Fiction,” said Shivambu.

“If there is no such category, we must introduce a category of a lifetime achiever award on fiction because everything that he represents is just fiction.”

Ramaphosa responds

Responding to Shivambu on Monday, Ramaphosa said it was the EFF leader who was living in an alternate reality.

“For a taste of reality, he could visit some of the 23 000 schools across this country where more than a
million school assistants have made a tangible difference in improving learning outcomes, supporting
curriculum delivery and improving the classroom environment,” said Ramaphosa.

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“Unlike some in this House, we see the economic and social value of the work and livelihood support
that has been made possible by mass public employment programmes.

“We see the impact of the 188 000 agricultural input vouchers that have been issued to small-scale farmers to expand their production and support food security.”

‘Name-calling and race-baiting regrettable’

Ramaphosa further criticised Members of Parliament (MPs) who are “sowers of disunity”.

“The name-calling, race-baiting and ethnic chauvinism we have seen in the course of this debate has
been regrettable,” said Ramaphosa.

“This is vital if we are to proceed to build a united nation. Not only do we need to have frank and
honest conversations about how race continues to define the prospects of our people, but we need to
pursue policies that resolve these contradictions in our economy and society.”

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Some MPs criticised the inclusion of ‘white parties’ in the government of national unity. They claimed it would exclude black South Africans from meaningful participation in economic activities.

“Instead of constituting a progressive government, the president of the ANC assembled a bloated executive of Oppenheimer puppets, semi-literate matriculants, apartheid apologists, ex-convicts, waffling careerists and call them a government of national unity,” said Shivambu.

On Saturday, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula conceded that government departments were not doing enough to update the country on the progress of various projects.

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He said ministers should take time to update the citizens on the progress of their work, to avoid speculation and confusion.

“There is work in progress, otherwise we will come to the conclusion that the president’s speeches are misleading. And some overzealous chaps will say it’s fiction, yet there is work that is being done,” said Mbalula.

“When they run out of criticism, they resort to derogatory and insufficient criticism on the president due to lack of reportage on the part of government departments.”