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New parties set out expectations for SONA

Patricia de Lille
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New players in the political space, and Parliament’s new kids on the block, GOOD and African Transformation Movement (ATM) have strong expectations of President Ramaphosa’s administration.

GOOD party leader, Patricia de Lille who has also been appointed a minister in Ramaphosa’s cabinet, says she wants Ramaphosa to focus on the economy.

“Our economy is not in a good shape and we expect the president to announce measures on how we can turn the corner. Eskom is on our minds, and we want him to tell us how we can get electricity security.”

GOOD has also called for young people to be involved in the planning and running of the country. “How can young people be part of planning and designing the future that they would love to see this country go into?”

On Wednesday, Ramaphosa engaged the youth in a Presidential Youth Dialogue. He took time to listen to young people’s views on the state of our democracy. He listened to their concerns and promised that nothing will be done for the youth without their involvement.

ATM, another new player in parliament is a party led by a young person, Vuyolwethu Zungula.

Zungula says they want the President to outline concrete plans. “The burning issue is unemployment, particularly youth unemployment. If he doesn’t have a concrete plan to tackle unemployment, then the SONA will not yield any positive results.”

ATM is also seeking to highlight the high rate of gender based violence in the country and they want Ramaphosa to work towards reducing this scourge.

“There needs to be a concrete plan to deal with gender based violence.” Zungula says an increase in police visibility is one way to help curb the war against women.

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