President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers the Opening of Parliament Address (OPA) for the Seventh Administration at Cape Town City Hall on 18 July 2024. Picture: Gallo Images/Jeffrey Abrahams
President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended his weaver bird analogy and backed the government of national unity (GNU) to address South Africa’s challenges.
Ramaphosa responded to the debate by Members of Parliament (PM) over his Opening of Parliament Address on Monday.
His response follows heavy criticism from some opposition parties during a parliamentary debate last Thursday, 18 July.
In his speech, the president called on the nation to emulate the weaver bird.
“Weavers are among the most efficient and gregarious birds in that they build complex structures together and cooperate,” he told Parliament.
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However, during the debate, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) deputy president Floyd Shivambu criticised Ramaphosa and the GNU, asserting that South Africa was being led by a “government of weaver birds, known for building sophisticated nests”.
“One thing you must know about birds is that only those with the same feathers flock together.
“However sophisticated and beautiful the nest that they build will be, they will never even allow the most peaceful of bird, a dove, to enter that nest.
“So these weaver birds that you’re bragging about here will always associate with themselves,” Shivambu claimed.
On Monday, Ramaphosa hit back at Shivambu and those critical of the GNU.
The president emphasised that South Africa was not in the dire situation that “some in the opposition benches want us to believe and have sought to loudly assert with sound and fury during this debate”.
Although he acknowledged that the country has faced shortcomings, he noted that the country has made progress over the past 30 years.
“We have done much to recover from these [setbacks] and are now committed to move forward with greater speed and impact,” the president told Parliament.
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Ramaphosa stated that the GNU would work together to “bring development and shared prosperity to our people” and he reinforced his weaver bird analogy.
“In this effort, as Minister [John] Steenhuisen says, we need the builders, not the breakers. We need weavers and not vultures.
“Those who share this vision of a better South Africa will find the doors of the government of national unity always open to cooperation and collaboration.”
“It is expected of all who have been entrusted with positions of leadership within the government of national unity that we rise to the challenge to be builders and not breakers.
“We must be at the forefront of building a capable, ethical developmental state, of growing an inclusive economy, and reducing poverty,” the president continued.
Ramaphosa further stressed that no political party within the GNU has the authority to alter policies.
“As the members of the government of national unity, we have agreed to a common minimum programme that forms the basis of the work of this administration.
“We agree with Minister [Patricia] De Lille that the needs and pain of our people know no political affiliation.
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“The policies we pursue and the programmes we implement are not the property of one or another political party.
“We will, therefore, each of us, equally advance and promote the positions and decisions of the government of national unity.”
The president added that he had explicitly told the executive that there would be no competition among the GNU parties to “outdo each other or lay claim to the policies that we collectively adopt”.
Additional reporting by Vhahangwele Nemakonde
