Sona 2024: Promise, promise. But will voters trust Mr Ramaphosa?
It's hard not to read deeply into the symbolism of the State of the Union address, which will be delivered at Cape Town's City Hall for the third time since the Houses of Parliament was destroyed in a devastating fire in January 2022. As the country prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary of democracy in April. The historic building remains in ruins and the reconstruction is expected to be completed by 2025.
President Cyril Ramaphosa's first SONA was built on the ideology of rebuilding a broken state, battered by years of mismanagement and corruption under then-president Jacob Zuma. But as my colleague Peter du Toit wrote in this week's column, six years on from Zuma, Ramaphosa has little to offer. All the promises he made for rebuilding have evaporated. Much like what happened in our Capitol.
Prime Minister Ramaphosa on Thursday night persuaded South Africans that the country was finally on the right track as the country reeled in the face of continuing challenges of corruption, misgovernment, crime, unemployment, crumbling infrastructure and inadequate service delivery. In order to do so, we made a strong sales pitch.
“The past five years have been a time of recovery, rebuilding and renewal,” he told MPs on Thursday night. But the question is, why is there a need for recovery, reconstruction, and regeneration? If the ANC had not been at the forefront of the country's destruction, we would have been at the point where South Africa was moving forward instead.
As one analyst noted after his speech, Mr. Ramaphosa spoke more specifically about the past than about the future. South Africans will probably have to wait for the second SONA later this year, after the elections, to find out exactly what the plan actually is. Maybe we can get some accountability. The question is whether this speech was enough to renew voters' confidence in the ANC and Ramaphosa and return the party to federal buildings without forming a coalition government.
In this week's Friday Briefing, Kanita Hunter, News24's deputy editor for politics and opinion, writes that the president made a serious effort to paint a rosy picture of progress during his first term. .
We've also included key takeaways from the speech in case you missed it.
In the third post, University of Johannesburg's Professor Maksevisi Ndretyana traces what happened under Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and now Ramaphosa to get to this point, and whether there will be a turnaround. There is.
There is also a contribution from renowned political analyst Professor Tinyiko Maluleke, who considers whether we are at the end of history (in South Africa) and whether this will be the ANC's last State of the Union address. .
Finally, Official Opposition Leader John Steenhuisen has detailed that if given the chance in this election, his party would act differently than the ANC based on the challenges facing the country. Stated.
We hope our analysis will lead to better insights into South Africa's future.
The best,
Vanessa Bunton
Opinion editor.
South Africa is surrounded by a sense of confinement
He wrote that if South Africa is to emerge from stagnation, it needs not just jobs, but a vibrant public service and political leadership with a sense of mission and respect for the people it serves. There is Maksevisi Ntletiana.
The end of history and the last SONA
He writes that recent discourse on South Africa's national situation and its associated politics has echoes of the end of history. Tiniko Maluleke. He wonders if we're really getting to that point.
Our blueprint to save South Africa
official opposition leader John Steenhuisen The terms of the DA reflect the actual state of the country and provide a “glimpse” of how the country could be governed if the party took control.