The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has outlined their expectations for the State of the Nation Address (SONA) saying time frames for an economic recovery plan is important for the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to deliver the SONA on Thursday at 7pm, with the theme being ‘following up on our commitments, making your future work better’.
Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla says they expect government to outline solutions and goals that are possible for the country to work towards.
“We’ve been talking about the economy recovery plan and we need to be given definite time frames and how much money is going to be spent. Normally when we get to the SONA, we get another broad vision that sometimes, when you listen to it, is more political than anything else.”
“To come out with extravagant claims and commitments and big dreams, when you don’t have the resources or capacity is just not helpful. Let us limit ourselves to what is possible,” adds Pamla.
Pamla adds that they expect government to outline solutions and goals that are possible for the country to work towards.
“Let’s talk about the SOEs, this is an area that is disappointing for us because no one has presented a coherent strategy of how to fix them, how to turn them around, identify the strategic plans and to just give workers a sense that someone is doing something to save their jobs and rescue these companies. These are some of the things that we are demanding the President focus on,” explains Pamla.
In the video below, Cosatu’s Bheki Ntshalintshali shares expectations ahead of SONA:
Ramaphosa must use SONA to provide clarity on vaccine
Meanwhile, opposition parties want greater clarity over the COVID-19 vaccine when President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his State of the Nation Address.
The parties demand his accountability about the efficacy and expiry date of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
SA opposition parties want clarity on vaccine during SONA
