CYRIL RAMAPHOSA
By Tiisetso Makhele
07 February 2025
The SONA, like the State of the Province/Municipality Address (SOPA, SOMA), serves as a policy statement and supersedes all planning documents in the area of its jurisdiction. Last night’s address therefore is not a statement made in vain. It shall guide all planning by cabinet in the next year, and will be reviewed next year when another SONA is delivered.
My general observations;
a) The 2025 SONA is generally better than the 2024 speech, which was more fictitious (Tintswalo) and relied heavily on the “addressing the state capture” narrative.
b) The 2025 SONA has tried to address fundamental issues facing the country, except for a few which I will outline later.
c) The only challenge with the speech is its lack of detail, and lack of motion reporting. Most of the issues narrated in the speech were there in previous speeches, but there was a failure by the speech to provide progress updates to the people of South Africa. I find this to be a serious challenge, which must be addressed in future, even in the coming SOPA speeches.
d) I am inspired that the speech is premised on the Freedom Charter, and that this year we will be celebrating 70 years since the adoption of the Freedom Charter. This is crucial as the speech reminds the people of the founding principles of our struggle, like land.
e) I am further motivated that the envisaged National Dialogues, as the President outlined, will be held in the spirit of the Congres of the People (eseng ya Shikota).
f) For me as a speechwriter, amongst others, this prelude is highly progressive and sets the tone for revolutionary text.
g) I am also inspired that the President has outlined or committed that the two Bills which have been signed into law, namely;
• BELA, and
• NHI, are to be implemented in full force. The Minister of Basic Education will develop national policy and norms & standards for BELA implementation, and hospitals are being erected to put NHI into implementation. Whilst the trick is in the implementation, we are inspired by these commitments by the President.
h) It is surprising that the Expropriation Act, which was also signed during the same era, features nowhere in the speech. One can only hope that this is an omission. This is a costly omission, given that the speech itself outlines that black people remain landless. I hope that the President will ensure that the Minister of Public Works implements this Act.
i) We appreciate the development of the Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) and hope that provinces will follow suit.
j) On a capable state (page 4), we note that, once again, the President has committed to review the funding model for municipalities. What we need here is a progress report, as this has been on the agenda for years.
k) We note that the President commits that the country seeks to increase its GDP growth be more than 3%. This is highly ambitious and we hope that all organs of state, private sector, civil society, trade unions, etc., will rally behind this noble goal. We really need our economy to grow and LL OF US MUST PLAY A ROLE.
l) On page 5, we note that the speech refers to “innovative ways of funding infrastructure”, and that the state will be “engaging local and international financial institutions and investors” to assist with funding infrastructure. My only advice is that we do not subject our national goals to finance capital. We do have other viable options, like using the Reserve Bank to avail funding for development. I am wary of this proposal.
m) On government infrastructure expenditure (page 5), we note that government will spend R940 billion, R375 of which will be through SOCs, on infrastructure. We sincerely hope that the FS will get a good cut here. As province at the heart of the country, our roads are affected by passing traffic, and the allocations to us are never enough.
n) On page 6, the President refers to “fundamental reform” of SOEs. We can only hope that this will not amount to privatization. We note that an SOE Reform Unit will be established to oversee this work. Ideologically, I am opposed to privatization, and I don’t think it will serve the interests of the people as a whole.
o) The statement “over time, we will allow multiple electricity generation entities (in the 2024 SOA 120 entities were mentioned) to emerge and compete”, sends shockwaves through my spine.
p) On page 8, the President states that “Blacks were deprived of land…” The situation remains, and that statement must not be in past tense. This statement’s exposition in the past tense, and the omission of the land issues from the whole speech, is worrisome to me.
q) For the first time, the so-called Transformation Fund or R20 billion is alluded to, ending months of speculation. Since this is not a product of consultation, one wonders what the modalities will be. I have already mad my inputs on this platform, especially on sources of funding. We shall await the announcement, as usual, for more details.
r) It is necessary that the state devolves some of the interventions to provinces and municipalities, like massive capital funding.
s) We appreciate that, finally, the regulations for the implementation of the Public Procurement Act will be “fast-tracked”, which is intended to ensure women, youth and black owned businesses benefit from state contracts.
t) We also welcome that the President has announced that the state will “finalise a modernised and comprehensive industrial policy”. We once again call for broader public consultations to ensure that our policies are not elitist and all can rally behind them.
u) On page 9, though there are no details, the speech commits that minerals will be beneficiated locally for local economic development. This is welcomed, but we need to at least put quotas on minerals exported elsewhere in the world.
v) On page 10, the speech makes a startling error of confusing two concepts; i.e. *poverty reduction” and *poverty relief*. Social grans and other welfare programmes are relief methods, They do not reduce poverty. I therefore argue that the term reduction of poverty was incorrectly used. In order for us to reduce poverty, we must increase the incomes of our people. This can be done through, amongst others, creation of decent jobs, support for business activity, reduction of taxes, etc. I do however appreciate the role of grants. They are a necessary relief.
w) We appreciate the commitment to release unutilized state properties for affordable housing development.
In conclusion, I found this to be a balanced speech, and I believe we are in the right direction. I am of the firm belief that we must add more details and clear plans to inspire confidence from our people. Land is both an economic issue, but also an emotive one that may cause divisions if not addressed. We must show seriousness when dealing with land. The President was too diplomatic on the challenges that affect the functionality of the GNU. The President could have used the opportunity to stamp his authority so that not pop star Minister undermines him again. Lastly, I believe that we must remain a disciplined force of the Left.
Makhele is an African Marxist who writes what he likes
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