Ramaphosa's response to Sona debate on Eskom, unemployment and being a 'sell-out'

After two days of heated debate on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s February 7 State of the Nation Address, he responded on Thursday.

Members of parliament who debated the Sona included EFF President Julius Malema, Cope leader Mosioua Lekota and DA MP GG Hill-Lewis.  

Eskom, education and unemployment were among the key points debated. 

Here are President Ramphosa’s responses:

On unbundling Eskom

“The decision we announced in Sona to establish three separate, 100% state-owned entities, for generation, for transmission and distribution respectively, it has received the most attention, but it is by no means the only or most significant measure that must be undertaken. It is not a path to privatisation.”

“Sell-out” allegations

“When you deal with security police, there are three things they want from you: either you give evidence on your comrades or you become an askari and kill them, or you become a paid agent. I did not do any of the three things they wanted, not at all.”

Unemployment

“We are working every day to accelerate economic growth and make meaningful progress in finding work for the 9.7 million South Africans who are currently unemployed. We applaud the great initiatives that several of our provinces and many municipalities are undertaking to stimulate economic growth and to create jobs.”

Access to education

“We applaud the work being done by the Department of Basic Education to prioritise access to quality education and we have seen how the education outcomes in our country have been improving over the years. The matric results of last year were a clear testimony that things are changing, we are moving forward without any fail.”

On child safety

“We are doing more to keep our children safe and protected from abuse and violence. This means strengthening our approach to community policing to make the places where children live safe, and to intensify the work already under way to make our police, our prosecutors and our courts more responsive to the needs of children.”