President Cyril Ramaphosa has hit back at political parties who criticised his recent state of the nation address (Sona), saying instead of offering solutions to solve the country’s problems, they paraded as “merchants of hope” when in fact, they are “merchants of despair”.
He also slammed some political parties for making a mockery of parliament and depicting South Africa as a country in “chaos”.
“The debate has raised important issues and some constructive suggestions have been put forward. But there are those in this house who, instead of being merchants of hope, have cast themselves as merchants of despair.
“They have determined that their political fortunes are best served by depicting South Africa as being in chaos — instead of being parties that acknowledge the challenges and are determined to work together to find solutions,” said Ramaphosa on Thursday.
The president was responding to a debate in a joint sitting of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces, after MPs debated his seventh Sona delivered last Thursday.
Chaotic scenes played out in the house last Thursday after members of the EFF, led by Julius Malema, stormed the stage charging towards Ramaphosa who remained seated.
The men and women in red had pretended to walk out of the Cape Town City Hall after they had been ordered out by speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for disrupting Ramaphosa numerous times as he attempted to deliver his address.
The president’s protectors, some masked, sprang into action surrounding him, after some members of the EFF suddenly went onto the stage.
On Tuesday and Wednesday MPs criticised Ramaphosa’s address and his declaration of a national state of disaster to deal with the energy crisis, and the looming appointment of a minister of electricity in his office.
He asked his colleagues in parliament if they will ever be able to work together to confront the country's challenges. “Or will we be consumed by our differences and, in so doing, surrender to the problems that beset our country?
“The debate on the state of the nation address over the last two days has done much to emphasise our differences and reveal the extent of political contestation in our society.”
All this was expected and welcomed because South Africa is a “vibrant and robust democracy”, he said.
“Rather than present a balanced assessment of the state of the nation, they have resorted to dishonest and self-serving rhetoric.
“Rather than acknowledge the grave damage caused to our country by state capture, by the effects of a devastating global pandemic or by the worst public violence in the history of our democracy, some of these honourable members have failed to come up with practical suggestions or solutions that can resolve the many problems our nation faces.
“Some choose to belittle and deride what has been achieved over the last five years amid extremely difficult conditions because it does not serve their political interests to recognise the progress that has been made and plainly clear to everyone who cares to look.
“These contributions may serve their electoral aspirations but they do not serve the interests of the people of South Africa.”
He told MPs that the task was to emerge from the debate with a common determination to meet the challenges that present themselves and to provide a better life for all.
“Where people have begun to doubt the promise of our constitution, it is our job to restore it. Not through words, but through action. To do so, we must reflect deeply and honestly on what has gone wrong, on where we have strayed from the path we set out on in the first place,” he said.
“The ANC is not the only party in government, in various entities and government structures and one of the speakers stood up here and said: ‘Just be careful that as you throw stones, do remember that you also live in a glass house. Because the same could be happening to your side as well.’
“We do not need to go through a litany of failures we are experiencing at local government level and this affects all parties in government. The important thing is for us to realise that we have a common problem and we have to find common solutions.”
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