President Ramaphosa addressed domestic issues and Israel's war in Gaza in his annual State of the Union address.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his annual State of the Union address, reaffirmed his country's commitment to helping secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war and ultimately a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
Addressing MPs at Cape Town City Hall on Thursday, the president said South Africa had taken up the Palestinian cause “based on fundamental principles of human rights and freedoms” and “to prevent further death and destruction in Gaza.”
South Africa has filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. The court issued a preliminary ruling last month saying it had jurisdiction to hear the case and ordering Israel to take all measures to prevent acts of genocide.
In his speech, Prime Minister Ramaphosa said: “We welcome the International Court of Justice's ruling that Israel must take all possible measures to stop its genocide against the Palestinian people.”
“We condemn the killing of civilians on all sides and call on all parties involved in the conflict to commit to a peace process that will bring about a two-state solution,” it added.
Al Jazeera's Fahmida Miller, reporting from Johannesburg after the speech, said South Africa considered the case at the ICJ to be a “success” so far.
“President Ramaphosa said that there is in fact no conflict in any part of the world that is difficult to resolve and cannot be resolved through negotiation, and addressed the issue of the Gaza war, saying that South Africa would stand firm against Palestine. Behind the people's backs…and they will continue the fight using all diplomatic and legal means to bring about a ceasefire and a two-state solution in the region,” the correspondent added.
30 years of democracy
This is an important election year for South Africa. The African National Congress (ANC), led by Prime Minister Ramaphosa, has led the country since the first post-apartheid democratic elections in 1994.
Despite its historical lead, the ANC has struggled in opinion polls and many analysts expect it to fall short of the parliamentary majority it has enjoyed in past elections for the first time.
On Thursday, the third-party opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) also canceled its State of the Nation address after its leader and deputy were suspended by parliament for storming the stage during a speech last year. I boycotted it.
In his speech, Mr Ramaphosa, 71, highlighted how far the country has come since the end of apartheid.
“Prime Minister Ramaphosa used this opportunity to talk about some of the progress we have made over the past 30 years,” Miller said. “The ANC is going through a very difficult time. Many will say that South Africa's ruling party has let down millions of South Africans in that little has changed, but the ANC will say otherwise. Let’s go.”
“eventually [Ramaphosa] He used this speech to highlight what the ruling party has done over the past 30 years, to encourage South Africans to come vote, to renew hope in the party and to try to fix some of its problems. the difficulties the party has gone through,” she added.
Prime Minister Ramaphosa also spoke about the steps his government has taken to address the country's long-term energy crisis. “We are confident that the worst is over and the end of load shedding is finally within reach,” he said, using the local term for power outages.
The prime minister also said the government had made “significant progress on measures to grow the economy, create jobs and reduce poverty” and promised thousands of new jobs.
Without naming names, Ramaphosa also slammed his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, 81, who was suspended from the ruling party last month for supporting a breakaway party that threatened to steal votes from the ANC.
Ramaphosa cited the challenges South Africa has faced in recent decades, saying the era of massive corruption that characterized the Zuma government was “probably the biggest damage” to the country.
“For a decade, people at the highest levels of the state have conspired with individuals to take over and repurpose state-owned enterprises, law enforcement agencies and other public institutions,” he said.
“Billions of rands that were supposed to meet the needs of ordinary South Africans have been stolen.”
South Africans are expected to go to the polls between May and August this year.