SONA 2022: Malema describes Ramaphosa as 'worst president to have ever occurred to black people'

• Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema has taken a swipe at President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address.
• Malema described Ramaphosa as the worst president for black people.
• The red berets leader has also slammed Ramaphosa's assertion that the private sector, and not the government, creates jobs.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says there is no consistency or implementation of the government's objectives due to President Cyril Ramaphosa's belief that each State of the Nation Address (SONA) is the beginning of a new term as president.

Malema grilled Ramaphosa as he participated in the debate on Ramaphosa's 2022 SONA address, which he delivered on Thursday night.

"What began as a so-called 'new dawn' has become massive unemployment, increased violence against women and children, collapsing hospitals, and the greatest threats against the security of the state in post-democratic South Africa. The fact of the matter is Mr President, your dream of being a president coming true has been a nightmare for the people of South Africa," Malema said.

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Malema said that under Ramaphosa's tenure, the situation in the country had gone from bad to worse.

"[There is a] dismal failure of the state criminal justice system to decisively deal with gender-based violence and femicide. The local government [sphere], particularly in rural areas, is dysfunctional, with more than 128 municipalities in financial distress. Our education infrastructure is still incomplete and children still go to mud schools and use pit latrines," Malema said.

“Mr President, you must admit that under your leadership, SA is in a worse condition than it has ever been. You are currently the worst president to have ever occurred to black people, and we are not surprised that black people are getting poorer under your leadership," he said.

Malema also slammed Ramaphosa's assertion that the private sector should lead the creation of jobs.

"There is no private capitalist corporation that has as its primary objective the purpose of job creation. They are all obsessed with profits at the expense of our people. That is why all major capitalist corporations, particularly in the mining sector, are involved in tax avoidance and illicit financial flows because they want to shift their profits to countries with low or no taxes," Malema said.

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Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said a system is being set up to coordinate the implementation of all Special Investigating Unit (SIU) recommendations.

"This will overcome gaps in accountability and allow us to monitor and detect where there is inadequate progress in implementation. While this initiative is a work in progress, it does not stop us from immediately pursuing the implementation of recommendations the SIU has made in respect of various investigations. As part of our commitment to revamp our country's security services, we are in the process of putting together a plan which will, through the National Security Cluster Secretariat (NSC), be concluded and tabled before the NSC for adoption," he said.