SA in line to develop own vaccine, Ramaphosa reveals in Parliament

President Cyril Ramaphosa has instructed his Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande to assemble a team of scientists to develop the country’s own Covid-19 vaccine.

Ramaphosa said South Africa would use scientists, but also consider the indigenous African knowledge to prepare to deal with the current and future pandemics.

“We can’t be scouring the world, but we must develop our own vaccine and we must develop it now,” he said.

He said South African scientists were involved in the management of various vaccines.

In a response on Thursday in Parliament to his State of the Nation Address (Sona), Ramaphosa lambasted opposition parties for their “unwarranted” criticism and insults thrown at him over his speech.

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“All we need is to sit down and smell the coffee and see that great things are happening in this land,” Ramaphosa said.

He said much of what the opposition MPs said was name-calling and mudslinging, but citizens expected all leaders to engage civilly and in a serious manner.

He said the opposition spent much energy on negative things when, if they stepped back, they would find the country had much strength that lay in its people.

But he said they would overcome and find ways to work together.

“We will rise because of the resilience of our people,” he said.

He reiterated that despite the criticism, the nation would fight back.

“We will overcome the pandemic and we will build the economy,” he said.

He promised that the economy would be able to create jobs that would help people escape poverty.

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The pandemic had not only revealed much about the character of South Africans, but it also revealed the depth of their expertise, said Ramaphosa.

He said South Africa’s renewable energy programmes presented great opportunities.

The president stressed that land reform must be a trade-off for agricultural output.

A Platinum Valley with a cluster of platinum products for an integrated hydrogen system manufacturing hub would also be building the country’s skills base.

This would exploit the fact that South Africa was the biggest platinum producer in the world.

Ramaphosa said the country must never despair.

“Let’s not be discouraged and despair as South Africans because that is not in our DNA,” he said.

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He challenged all parliamentarians to resolve to work together to overcome the virus, poverty and unemployment, violence against women and children and to sustain the country’s economy.

Ramaphosa ended his address by referring to his fynbos example he mentioned in his Sona.

“I will work harder for the people of South Africa. I must also say, like the fynbos I spoke about, I will rise,” Ramaphosa said.

The opposition parties all said Ramaphosa’s speech was Sona 2 as he continued where he left off, instead of responding to their questions and concerns.

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen said the response was far from the lived experiences of the people.

– ericn@citizen.co.za

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