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SONA 2024: Promises, promises. But will voters trust Ramaphosa?
It's hard not to read into the symbolism of the State of the Nation Address taking place at Cape Town City Hall for the third time since a devastating fire destroyed the National Assembly in January 2022, as the country prepares to mark 30 years of democracy in April. The historic building remains derelict, with reconstruction only expected to be done by 2025.
President Cyril Ramaphosa's first SONA was built on the ideology of rebuilding our broken state, hammered by years of mismanagement and corruption under the auspices of then-president Jacob Zuma. But as my colleague Pieter du Toit wrote in his column this week, six years after Zuma, Ramaphosa has very little to offer. Any promises of rebuilding he made have withered. Much like what has happened to our parliamentary building.
With the country staggering along under the challenges of continuing corruption, mismanagement, crime, unemployment, crumbling infrastructure and poor service delivery, Ramaphosa had a hard sell on Thursday night to convince South Africans that the country is finally on the right track.
"The last five years has been a time of recovery, rebuilding and renewal," he told MPs on Thursday night. The question, though, is why the need for recovery, rebuilding and renewal. If the ANC hadn't been at the forefront of the country's destruction we would instead be at the point where South Africa is advancing.
As one analyst put it after the speech, Ramaphosa was more specific on the past than he was on the future. Perhaps South Africans will have to wait for the second SONA later this year after the elections to get specifics on what the plan actually is. Maybe we might even get some accountability. That's if this address was enough to renew voters' trust in the ANC and Ramaphosa to return the party to the Union Buildings, without the need for forming a coalition government.
In this week's edition of Friday Briefing, News24's assistant editor of politics and opinions, Qaanitah Hunter, writes that the president sought in earnest to paint a rosy picture of progress during his first term in office.
We also have key takeaways from the speech in case you weren't able to catch it.
In our third submission, University of Johannesburg's Professor Mcebisi Ndletyana tracks what happened under Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and now Ramaphosa to get us to this point, and whether there will ever be a turnaround.
We also have a contribution from well known political analyst, Professor Tinyiko Maluleke who considers if we are at the end of history (in South Africa) and whether this will be the ANC's last State of the Nation Address.
Finally, the leader of the official opposition John Steenhuisen details what his party would do differently from the ANC, if given the chance in this election, based on challenges the country is facing.
We hope our analysis gives you a better insight into South Africa's future.
Best,
Vanessa Banton
Opinions editor.
SONA was a C-grade effort in revisionism
There is no way that Ramaphosa envisioned such marginal paltry reform when he delivered his first SONA in 2018, writes Qaanitah Hunter.
'I know you love this': Six things to know about Ramaphosa's 2024 SONA
President Cyril Ramaphosa was very confident in thinking that many people will love what he has to say. Muhammad Hussain looked through his 16-page SONA speech to see what there is to love - or hate.
South Africa is enveloped by a sense of stagnation
We need more than just jobs, but a vibrant public service and political leadership with a sense of duty and some semblance of respect for those they’re meant to serve, if South Africa is going to get out of its stagnant mode, writes Mcebisi Ndletyana.
The end of history and the last SONA
Recent discourse about the state of the nation in South Africa, as well as its attendant politics, have had an end-of-history ring to it, writes Tinyiko Maluleke. He considers if we have indeed reached that point.
Our blueprint to rescue South Africa
Official opposition leader John Steenhuisen reflects on what the DA terms is the real state of the nation and gives a 'glimpse' into how the country can be governed if the party is at the helm.
