State of the nation: what can South Africans expect to hear?
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While the country waits for President Cyril Ramaphosa to deliver the state of the nation address (Sona) in parliament on Thursday, chats about what to expect from his speech have sparked a heated debate online.
Ramaphosa is expected to address the country's embattled state-owned entities (SOEs), such as Eskom and SAA, and unemployment.
Social media users, including Movement for One South Africa (Mosa) leader Mmusi Maimane, said they need more than empty promises.
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Dear @CyrilRamaphosa we need more than empty promises in the #SONA2020.
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) February 12, 2020
No more summits. No more conferences. No more talk shops. Sikhathele.
What we need are clear commitments to action plans to catalyze economic growth. pic.twitter.com/Hc1QloTVMk
Ramaphosa's past SONA promises.
— Jarred van Vuuren (@JarredBvV) February 12, 2020
-Reduce unemployment
-A smart city
-Eskom broken up into 3 companies
-Scorpions 2.0
-The release of state owned land
South Africa is still waiting!#SONA2020
Funny how ppl think Cyril's Sona speech will change their lives, a mere speech; how many speeches has he given before this one& how has your life changed?
— 泛非主义者 (@justpat66) February 11, 2020
Facts: since he took over, we lost jobs, economy not growing, loadshedding, SOCs collapsing& u cry for a SPEECH?? #SONA2020
Youth unemployment remains this country’s nightmare, that’s what I need the President to touch on, on Thursday during State Of The Nation. As well as gender based violence, he needs to come up with a solution to deal with this. It’s URGENT!!! #SONA2020
— Vutivi (@Vutivi_M) February 12, 2020
As South Africa prepares itself for Cyril Ramaphosa's state of the nation address (Sona), we take a look at South Africa's four prominent presidents and what they achieved. Through statistics, we compare each democratically elected president's promises to the subsequent realities.
Boycott
The founder of The People’s Dialogue, Herman Mashaba, said he would boycott Sona.
He said nothing new could be expected from the event.
“What tough talk will we hear about our ailing state-owned entities while we continue to sink billions into these failing businesses? How many jobs will we be told will be created in the year ahead?
“Watching this bizarre ritual, I find myself asking the question: how does any of this benefit the people of our country? I am still searching for an answer.”
Possible disruptions
The EFF said it would continue with its plans to disrupt Sona, despite parliament's presiding officers warning against it.
The red beret's leader, Julius Malema, said they will use Sona to call for the removal of public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan for misleading the nation about load-shedding.
“When Cyril starts, we start! That’s how it’s going to roll. When he starts speaking, we are speaking also about Pravin going. We are not going to be ruled here by Pravin. It must come to an end,” said Malema.
He made a similar threat in January. Parliament responded that it is “not losing any sleep” over the EFF's Sona plans.
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