Some political parties have criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa‘s State of the Nation Address, saying it is based on dreams and lacks clear plans on how to grow the country’s economy.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane says the address is deeply disappointing.
“More language coming from the President, but no party to back him and no tangible plans to make sure make sure that we put investment into our economic growth, stimulate economic growth and make sure that our citizens are safer by giving more policing power to provinces so that we can actually bring the change. Very little mention on corruption, money was stolen, this speech was about addressing the mess that the ANC has created and failed to give a plan about the hope South Africans must look forward to,” says Maimane.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says Ramaphosa did not say anything significant in his speech.
“The days of dreaming are over because now we need a President who is awake, not a dreaming President. A President is now allowed to dream. You cannot just talk as a President, you have to have a target. We didn’t get that, we were just told of two-million jobs which are going to be created in ten years’ time and that is not going to happen because the NDP spoke about 11-million jobs in 2030, now he speaks about two-million jobs in 2029, meaning the 11 million ambition of the National Development Plan has been abandoned. We’ve got a new plan called dreams,” says Malema.
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Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi says what Ramaphosa has said is something that all South Africans desire.
“He starts also by saying our economy is not performing at the rate at which we can do what we’d like to do. No one can disagree with things that our country deserves, all the things that he says we’d like our country to be, we agree with him and we think he’s being realistic when he says that, you know we need implementation,” says Buthelezi.
Leader of the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) Pieter Groenewald says the president’s SONA speech was a wish list. He says Ramaphosa doesn’t come with concrete ways to achieve the objectives outlined in the speech.
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African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Ace Magashule says Ramaphosa’s dreams are achievable.
“You’re going to see new cities, you’re going to see the bullet train in South Africa. We’re very confident. These are not just dreams, something built up in the sky. These are practical things that are going to happen. You’re going to see our children studying robotics. You are going to see rural areas and township areas developing in terms of business. You are going to see companies registered in one day,” says Magashule.
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