Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has harshly criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), dismissing it as “nothing but waffle and empty words.”
“There is no plan. The president doesn’t account for what he said before this State of the Nation Address. The previous one was ‘Tshwanelo,’ the other one was ‘Thuma Mina,’” Malema told the media outside Cape Town City Hall on Thursday night.
His remarks followed Ramaphosa’s first SONA under the Government of National Unity (GNU), established after the 2024 general elections.
Malema argued that Ramaphosa’s address lacked accountability.
“He uses this platform to just come and waffle,” he said.
To address South Africa’s unemployment rate—currently at 32.1%—Ramaphosa announced the government’s plan to invest in infrastructure over the next three years.
“The government will spend more than R940 billion on infrastructure over the next three years. This includes R375 billion in spending by state-owned companies,” Ramaphosa said.
He added that the funding would revitalise roads and bridges, build dams and waterways, modernise ports and airports, and support economic growth.
However, Malema dismissed the plan, questioning its feasibility.
“He says infrastructure is going to be developed, so much money has been put aside, but where and how? There’s no plan. It’s just utterances to pass time,” Malema said.
“He knows very well that he will not be challenged by those he’s convening with.”
Malema also questioned whether the investment would effectively address South Africa’s sluggish economic growth.
“Do you think that will take us out of low growth levels?” he asked.
He cited previous promises, such as R1 million allocated for disaster relief in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), which he claimed had yet to materialise.
“He has spoken about building one million houses in Alexandra (Gauteng). Those houses are not built,” Malema said.
However, on 30 August last year, IOL News reported that Ramaphosa apologised to Alexandra residents, clarifying that his government never promised to build one million houses specifically for the area. He explained that the commitment referred to a national target over five years, with some housing allocated for Stjwetla, an overcrowded part of Alexandra.
Malema remained sceptical of Ramaphosa’s infrastructure commitments.
“Whatever R900 billion he’s talking about, you must know he’s just passing time. He’s not a man who follows through on what he committed to during the State of the Nation Address,” he said.
Ramaphosa announced that he will set up a transformation fund worth R20 billion a year over the next five years to fund black-owned and small business enterprises.
Malema dismissed the plan, saying: “He's still saying we're going to make sure that we develop the guidelines to make sure that it is not subjected to red tapes and all manner of things.”
He referred to the Giyani water project in Limpopo, another unfulfilled promise.
“We spoke about water during the Giyane project. When he became the president, one of the things we said to him was the completion of the Giyane project. Till today, the project has not been implemented.”
The bulk water project, which began in 2014, was meant to be completed by 2017 but has been delayed despite an estimated R4 billion already spent.
The project was revived in 2021 and, once finished, is expected to supply water to 55 villages in Giyani.
Ramaphosa acknowledged that cities, towns, and villages were experiencing more and more frequent water shortages as a result of failing water infrastructure.
“We are, therefore, taking a series of decisive actions to resolve the water crisis, to enable our people to get water where they live, whether in townships or rural areas.”
He said the government was investing heavily in expanding the water resources.
“To date, the Infrastructure Fund has secured R23 billion for seven large water infrastructure projects,” he said.
“We have ended delays in major water infrastructure projects like Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and the uMkhomazi Dam. Work is under way to prepare for construction of the Ntabelanga Dam on the uMzimvubu River to supply additional water for domestic use and irrigation in the Eastern Cape.”
Ramaphosa said the government will complete within the next year the establishment of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency to unlock much greater investment in water projects.
“Through the Water Services Amendment Bill, we will introduce a licensing system for water service providers and remove licenses where providers do not meet the standards for quality drinking water.”
Malema, however, argued that Ramaphosa is skilled at announcing large sums of money, but fails to deliver the results.
“Even during the height of Coronavirus (Covid-19) he was every speech putting numbers. But we've never seen any legacy of those billions that he spoke about, even during Covid,” Malema said.
IOL Politics