EFF statement on State of the Nation Address

11 February 2022

The EFF has noted the lacklustre State of the Nation Address, which has provided no verifiable solutions and was just a reminder of the blatant incompetence of a man who makes empty promises.

The fact of the matter is that South Africa is in a state of collapse, and no meaningless appeals for solidarity to fix problems created by government, will change the dark reality for the black majority in this country. In typical fashion, Ramaphosa has attempted to pull at the heart strings of a nation he has failed, in another series of failed theatrics, in the same line as his "New Dawn" and "Thuma Mina" rhetoric.

This dreaming President forgets that the nation he is meant to lead, has gone numb to his appeals, and fallen victim to abject poverty and hopelessness.

The Unemployment rate in South Africa is spiralling out of control, and in the third quarter of 2021, it sat at 34,9% in terms of the official definition.

In the expanded definition, unemployment sits at 46,9%. This means that nearly half of the people who can work, are unemployed. More than 3,8 million people have given up on finding work.

The last GDP figures released for the 3rd quarter decreased by 1,5% . They are going to claim growth of the 4th quarter of 2021 because of Christmas shopping. But the reality is that the economy is not growing at all.

The only sectors with positive growth is financial sector, government and personal services because these are paper bases economic activities very limited to few participants

It is this country, where a President who presides over shack dwellings, dreams of Smart Cities, where the children of the Eastern Cape attend mud schools and fall to their death in pit toilets.

The pointless posturing of excess security made at the City Hall where SONA was hosted, does nothing to ease the permanent anxiety our people are in. After the massive July riots, which saw the loss of innocent lives and racist vigilantes hunting black people in Phoenix, our people live in a state of fear.

This was followed by a fire in Parliament, and an individual walking into Musanda to do whatever he pleases and fires at Waterkloof army base. The nation has been abandoned, and we are unable to differentiate between natural disasters and deliberate sabotage.

It is an objective fact that there is no State Security in South Africa.

Ramaphosa has pretended to be taking matters into his own hands, by placing State Security in his office, yet repeatedly shows his state has no intelligence capacity. This further proves the point that placing State Security in his office and in the hands of his cronies, is nothing but a way to utilise slush fund money to fund his leadership battle in the ruling party.

There are henchmen in this country, who operate under the banner of "Operation Dudula", intimidating elderly people in poor communities demanding that they prove their citizenship. These thugs operate freely, and roam the streets carrying firearms, with no democratic mandate to enforce immigration laws

vulnerable people looking for help.

South Africa is literally on fire, and Ramaphosa is part of the problem.

It was therefore not surprising that the High Level Panel to investigate the July unrest confirmed what the EFF had long asserted, that factional warfare of the ruling party was at the centre of the violent uprisings. It is not only that, but the rampant poverty of our people, inflicted upon them.

The ANC is a cancer to society, and has infected the entire body politic of the nation.

Since he is a man that does not like accountability, and does not grasp that SONA must be constituted by reports of progress made, the EFF will outline what Ramaphosa has promised and not delivered on;

Ramaphosa claimed that his government will accelerate economic recovery. The reality is that the recorded growth in quarter 1 (0,9%) and 2 (1,1) in 2021 were due to reopening of the economic without any economic stimulus or government intervention. The decline of -1,5% in the third quarter was simply South African economy going to pre-COVID period. There has not been any tangible, practical and believable economic recovery plan from Ramaphosa administration since 2018.

He spoke about massive vaccination programme but the reality is that they are working on a controlled programme of vaccination that limit supply to Pfizer and AstraZeneca. As much as they have approved other vaccines, the reality is that there has not been any orders placed. Instead of giving people more options, people are forced into only limited options. As the EFF, we asked the Minister of Health basic information about the procurement of vaccine. Either he doesn't know or doesn't want to be transparent.

When he presented last SONA, unemployment was 30,8%. Today, the figure has increased to 34,9%.

Between time Cyril last addressed the nation and today, more than 1,1 million people lost their jobs.

He spoke of Lanseria Smart City. To this day, there is nothing to suggest there is going to be a smart city in Lanseria except mushrooming of informal settlements.

He reported that the licensing of high-demand spectrum is at an advance stage and the litigation will provide certainty. He failed on the licensing of Spectrum. In 2020, he promised that ICASA will finalize the licensing via action before the end 2020. This is after he claimed that he will engage the sector in 2018.

Because Telkom are the ones litigating, Ramaphosa has resolved to send the SIU to investigate Telkom for maladministration and misconduct as an attempt to threaten them to stop litigating on spectrum.

In 2021, he reported that the investment envoy has received R773 billion of the targeted R1,2 trillion. Because there is no tangible investment to speak of on the ground, we must assume that the money is being used to buy shares and financial assets for the rich and connected close to Ramaphosa and Trevor Manuel.

He established Presidential State-Owned Enterprises Council to revive SOEs but the reality is that PRASA, DENEL, and Transnet continue to be a political battlefield for corruption in the ANC while the public suffer. Denel cannot pay salaries, let alone its water and electricity bills to the City of Tshwane..

The only thing he has done successfully, that is to destroy SOE's in order to ease their privatisation.

This has been in accordance with an economic policy crafted by Investec, Stephen Kosheff and a mob of foreign influence.

He now suggests that State-Owned Enterprises must be placed under a holding company, precisely because he wants to surrender political responsibilities to the private sector. This is done through an incorrect diagnosis, which assumes that the corruption of his political party which has destroyed SOE's, represents the character of all politicians.

Ramaphosa truly believes that his handlers, whose only interest is profit maximisation, can develop South Africa.

This is why Ramaphosa makes a nonsensical statements that the private sector bears the responsibility of creating jobs, while government must only create an environment friendly to this. He cannot conceive of the state being at the centre of our developmental efforts, because in his feeble mind profit equates development.

We most come to grips with the fact that under Ramaphosa, this country is on a free fall and by the end of his term, we will not have a country to inherit.

The only logical solution is to remove this lap-dog government of white monopoly capital, and usher in a state built on socialist policies, which will invest massively in inter-continental trade, quality education and industrialisation.

There is nothing Ramaphosa has to offer, and the sooner the nation realised that, the better it will be for future generations.

Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 11 February 2022