While President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2026 state of the nation address outlined a wide range of interventions, from deploying the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to crime hotspots to reforming failing municipalities and tackling water crises, political analyst and academic Prof Susan Booysen says most measures were extensions of existing policy rather than bold new departures.
“There is very little that one can really describe as groundbreaking,” Booysen said, noting that many of the proposals build on tools and approaches the Presidency and government have used before.
SANDF deployment: not unprecedented
One of the most dramatic announcements was the deployment of the SANDF to support the police in areas beset by gang violence and illegal mining, particularly in the Western Cape and Gauteng. Ramaphosa said he has directed the minister of police and the defence force to prepare a plan for deployment in the coming days.
But Booysen says this idea is not entirely new. “One could imagine far-reaching steps such as sending the SANDF into areas of the Western Cape and Gauteng ... but we have certainly seen a similar step in previous situations,” she said, pointing to military support during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2021 July riots in KwaZulu-Natal.
Task teams and commissions: familiar tools
Ramaphosa’s speech also emphasised legislation and systemic interventions. He highlighted measures to tackle organised crime.
Booysen said many of these approaches — task teams, special committees and commissions — are familiar elements of the president’s governance style.
“Task teams, special committees, commissions — those are some of President Ramaphosa’s favourite ways of addressing problems in South African politics,” she said.
Gauteng water crisis and municipal failures
A significant portion of the address focused on chronic water shortages and municipal dysfunction. Ramaphosa directed the ministers of water and sanitation and co-operative governance to address water supply issues and announced plans for long-term infrastructure reform/upgrades backed by R156bn in funding.
Booysen acknowledged that shifting ministers into metro water interventions was unusual but questioned its short-term impact.
“This is something that we have not seen before. But in terms of immediate results, we know that the municipalities in Gauteng will probably fumble on for many months and years to come irrespective of this intervention.”
A small but meaningful political shift
Booysen pointed to one genuinely new element in the address: Ramaphosa’s explicit acknowledgment of the government of national unity under which he governs. She said this recognition and serious engagement with coalition partners marked a minor, though meaningful, shift.
“In previous addresses, that up-front recognition has not been as evident,” she said, suggesting this could signal evolving political dynamics within the coalition.
Groundbreaking only if it works
Ultimately, Booysen said the cumulative package of measures could be considered “pretty incisive” but said that such an assessment depends on implementation.
“If all of these measures together work and work well, then one can probably hope for action,” she said.
However, most measures in the 2026 Sona, she argued, are long-term and will not yield immediate results.
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