It was anticipated that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on Monday would focus on the Springboks' Rugby World Cup victory in France on Saturday. However, it went further than that.
Many South Africans described his speech, which touched on everything from rail to load-shedding and water challenges, as more like a state of the nation address (Sona).
The president began by stressing the importance of celebrating the Boks and strides made by other national sports teams.
“This victory rightfully calls for a moment of national recognition and celebration of our rugby players and their achievements. We should also applaud our cricket team who have been performing well in the Cricket World Cup. I spoke to the Proteas captain, Temba Bavuma, and encouraged them to remain focused, and told him that the entire nation supports and stands behind them. I also told him that I intend to travel to Mumbai in India to watch them play in the finals.”
His address then turned to governance, with the president reflecting on economic recovery, lessened load-shedding, the recovery of mismanaged state-owned entity funds, Covid-19, a hike in cash-in-transit robberies and illegal mining.
“As we reflect on these great achievements on the sporting field, we also need to reflect on our economic recovery and the further steps we are taking to revive economic growth and improve the lives of our people. As the latest census figures show, we have achieved great feats of human development since the beginning of democracy,” he said.
“Millions of South Africans have been raised out of poverty and now have housing and access to electricity, water, sanitation and other basic needs. Access to healthcare and education have been greatly expanded. Much more still needs to be done to make more progress. Even over the last 10 years, we have been able to make significant strides.
“For example, the percentage of households in formal dwellings rose from 78% in 2011 to 89% in 2022. This is evidence of concrete progress and should give us encouragement as we confront the challenges of the present.
“We are working to reverse the legacy of the past era of corruption and mismanagement of our state-owned enterprises, which has left us with a persistent energy crisis and an inefficient ports and rail network. There are clear signs that our efforts are showing results. Electricity supply is improving. Jobs are being created. Houses, roads, bridges and dams are under construction. Law-enforcement agencies are cracking down on criminal syndicates.”
With South Africa in election season, some social media users said Ramaphosa was praising his administration to impress voters ahead of the 2024 elections.
His declaration of December 15 as a holiday came at the tail end of his speech.
POLL | Was Ramaphosa campaigning or offering justified reflection?
Image: GCIS.
It was anticipated that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on Monday would focus on the Springboks' Rugby World Cup victory in France on Saturday. However, it went further than that.
Many South Africans described his speech, which touched on everything from rail to load-shedding and water challenges, as more like a state of the nation address (Sona).
The president began by stressing the importance of celebrating the Boks and strides made by other national sports teams.
“This victory rightfully calls for a moment of national recognition and celebration of our rugby players and their achievements. We should also applaud our cricket team who have been performing well in the Cricket World Cup. I spoke to the Proteas captain, Temba Bavuma, and encouraged them to remain focused, and told him that the entire nation supports and stands behind them. I also told him that I intend to travel to Mumbai in India to watch them play in the finals.”
His address then turned to governance, with the president reflecting on economic recovery, lessened load-shedding, the recovery of mismanaged state-owned entity funds, Covid-19, a hike in cash-in-transit robberies and illegal mining.
“As we reflect on these great achievements on the sporting field, we also need to reflect on our economic recovery and the further steps we are taking to revive economic growth and improve the lives of our people. As the latest census figures show, we have achieved great feats of human development since the beginning of democracy,” he said.
“Millions of South Africans have been raised out of poverty and now have housing and access to electricity, water, sanitation and other basic needs. Access to healthcare and education have been greatly expanded. Much more still needs to be done to make more progress. Even over the last 10 years, we have been able to make significant strides.
“For example, the percentage of households in formal dwellings rose from 78% in 2011 to 89% in 2022. This is evidence of concrete progress and should give us encouragement as we confront the challenges of the present.
“We are working to reverse the legacy of the past era of corruption and mismanagement of our state-owned enterprises, which has left us with a persistent energy crisis and an inefficient ports and rail network. There are clear signs that our efforts are showing results. Electricity supply is improving. Jobs are being created. Houses, roads, bridges and dams are under construction. Law-enforcement agencies are cracking down on criminal syndicates.”
With South Africa in election season, some social media users said Ramaphosa was praising his administration to impress voters ahead of the 2024 elections.
His declaration of December 15 as a holiday came at the tail end of his speech.
TimesLIVE
READ MORE:
WATCH | Ramaphosa declares December 15 a public holiday in honour of the Boks
WATCH | President Ramaphosa declares a national holiday in honour of the Boks and other sports teams
LISTEN | 'Let's rally behind Proteas like we did with Springboks' – Ramaphosa
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