Sona 2022: Ramaphosa’s new ‘social compact’ to create jobs and build economy

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a “new consensus” which he said would address unemployment, help grow the economy and fight poverty.

The plan, which he called a “social compact” will be finalised within 100 days, he said.

“Deep poverty, unemployment and poverty are unacceptable and unsustainable. There is an agreement among South Africans that fundamental change is needed to address  and create conditions for long lasting development

“We’ve given ourselves 100 days to finalise what I call a social compact to create jobs, build the economy and fight hunger.”

He added that government’s key task was to enable the private sector to create a favourable environment for business.

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Government doesn’t create jobs, business does, Ramaphosa said, followed by a loud round of applause from DA MPs.

“We need to create an enabling environment for business to emerge and grow, create new products and hire more employees. Problems in the South African economy are deep and also structural.

“Innovation is held back by scarcity of the internet, water quality that deteriorate. In that environment, companies are reluctant to invest. To address this problems, we are accelerating far reaching programs.”

Turning to the Solidarity Fund, Ramaphosa said at least R3.4 billion was raised since the establishment of the fund as the pandemic gripped the globe.

“We thank all 300,000 individuals and companies who donated to the fund. We also thank those who dedicated their time for free to help out, in a form of food parcels, clothes and so on. The Solidarity Fund played a pivotal role in the country.”

At least 42% of adults have been vaccinated, said Ramaphosa, urging people to get vaccinated.

“A significant number of South Africans have been vaccinated which is a milestone that many countries in the continent have not yet achieved yet. Vaccine is the best defense against Covid-19 and I can attest to that on a personal level.”

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