SONA was more recycled rhetoric, lacking plans to bring about the urgent change we need
20 June 2019
This evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa was presented with an opportunity to mark a divisive break from the past and charter a new way forward for our nation – a future of rapid economic growth, job creation, accelerated service delivery, quality education, and the eradication of corruption and crime.
The reality is that committing to a litany of “10-year goals” means very little to people who desperately need immediate change. The ANC has had 25 years to bring about change, and while the President is dreaming, the majority of South Africans are living a nightmare.
It is disappointing that the State of the Nation Address (SONA) was nothing more than an acknowledgement of the systemic problems the country faces – without announcing urgent and immediate reform measures that our nation and her people are crying out for. We need a plan for tomorrow.
While our economy remains in ICU, the President expects his recycled rhetoric, sprinkled with one or two minor changes, to lead to fundamental reform and take us on a path of rapid economic growth that creates a job in every home. This was not a SONA for the 10-million jobless South Africans,the majority of whom are young people.