‘We will not be bullied,’ says Ramaphosa in State of the Nation Address

Just metres away from the glitz and glamour of the R7-million Sona, hungry and homeless students are staging a protest, demanding that President Cyril Ramaphosa meet with them and urgently address their funding challenges, lack of accommodation and other pressing issues.

As can be expected from the state, the student protest is met with a heavy police presence, some carrying shields, while the students have nothing but their blankets and suitcases, reminiscent of the Fees Must Fall protests.

When asked why the Freedom Front Plus often seemed to act as an opposition party rather than part of the Government of National Unity with its differing views on the country’s foreign policy and now the handling of the foot and mouth disease, FF+ leader Dr Corné Mulder earlier told Daily Maverick: “No, we are within the GNU because we do our work in the executive with regard to the executive – but at the same time that didn’t mean that we stopped being the party that we are, and we feel very strongly about our positions.

“I’m not in the executive. I’m the leader of the party, and I will continue to put our position very strongly across because that is what our supporters expect of us to do.”

DA leader John Steenhuisen was among the last MPs to arrive on the red carpet, just before the cut-off time, but was kind enough to take a question.

When I asked for his assessment of the GNU, he responded: “The GNU has done really, really well,” citing the country’s removal from the grey list, improved economic growth, and “the rand is performing better than it has in the last 10 years.” (Steenhuisen has been accused from within his own party for being too much in favour of the GNU and not criticising the ANC strongly enough since being part of the national coalition.) He, however, warned that “we’ve got to grow faster.”

Speaking to Daily Maverick before Sona, Good party secretary-general Brett Herron said the party hoped the President addressed “ the low economic growth”.

“We really need 5% economic growth sustained over a long period of time if we’re going to achieve meaningful unemployment reduction,” said Herron, a member of the Western Cape provincial legislature.

“He must also address the high rate of hunger,” he said. “Almost 18 million South Africans are regarded as food insecure. And in a country like South Africa, which is not a poor country, we’re a middle-income country, the government must introduce either a food programme, a national food programme, or it must address its failure to achieve basic income. The R370 per month SRD [Social Relief of Distress] grant is insufficient to feed an adult.”

The Human Rights Commission, which has investigated and made recommendations on the national water crisis many times wants the President to declare a national water disaster. So does civil society’s WaterCan, which leads water rights work. Will President Cyril Ramaphosa heed the call?

The flip side of a disaster declaration is that it can let corruption in through the back door because procurement rules are relaxed in a national state of disaster.

Media Statement: The South African Human Rights Commission calls for the ongoing water crisis in the country to be declared a National Disaster

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is concerned by the ongoing water challenges engulfing the country. Communities and households in various parts of the country are battling with lack of access to water. Water is a fundamental human right entrenched in section 27 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Water is the lifeblood of human existence and plays a critical role in the achievement of several rights, such as healthcare, children’s rights, and education.

The SAHRC is concerned by the ongoing downward spiral regarding water management and distribution. The water challenges are widespread and significantly disrupt the lives of communities. Furthermore, the proper functioning of essential services such as schooling, healthcare among others, have been significantly compromised due to water challenges.

The SAHRC is convinced that the situation regarding water challenges in the country has reached crisis proportions. Data emerging from the South African Water Justice Tracker – a project partnership between the SAHRC and the University of the Witwatersrand tracking drivers and causes of failure by water services authorities in providing households with clean and sufficient water – corroborates the fact that the water crisis is not a localised phenomenon but is widespread affecting various parts of the country. The Water Justice Tracker reveals aging infrastructure; inadequate funding model; skills deficit and poor intergovernmental coordination as some of the key systemic and structural drivers contributing to the dysfunctionality of water services authorities.

Considering the dire nature of the water crisis in the country, the SAHRC empowered by section 13(1)(a)(i) of the South African Human Rights Commission Act 40 of 2013 recommends that government declares the water crisis engulfing the country a national disaster in accordance with the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002. The SAHRC will be issuing a letter to the Head othe National Disaster Management Centre containing the recommendation of a national disaster on the water crisis.

The water crisis has reached a level where a broad, integrated and coordinated effort is required to turn the dire situation around. Therefore, the classification and concomitant declaration of the water crisis in the country as a national disaster constitutes a reasonable measure in the circumstances. Properly and effectively implemented, the national state of disaster will ensure that emergency funds are mobilised and government collaboration is better coordinated. An intervention of this magnitude is essential amid the ongoing water crisis in the country.

The SAHRC however cautions that the declaration of a national state of disaster on the ongoing water crisis should not become a breeding ground for corruption, malfeasance and embezzlement of funds. Sufficient oversight measures to ensure fiscal prudence should be instilled. The SAHRC calls on government to continue to institute proactive measures, such as ensuring preventative infrastructure maintenance; critical water infrastructure rehabilitation; expediting the finalisation of bulk water projects; and instituting community behavioural change campaigns on water preservation.

Ends

Issued by the South African Human Rights Commission

The Sona will once again take place at Cape Town City Hall because of the 2022 fires that damaged the National Assembly and parts of the Old Assembly. This year, the Sona debate and reply by President Cyril Ramaphosa will be held in the refurbished Nieuwmeester Dome. The Dome, as Daily Maverick reported, has been refurbished after problems with acoustics and its ability to properly withstand the notorious Cape Doctor.

Good evening. These are images of children in the east of Johannesburg protesting against nine-day-long water cuts a little while ago. This is while we watch the red carpet at the Cape Town City Hall ahead of Sona26.

The other images – from the Water Crisis Committee – are of water tankers across Joburg today. There is a disjuncture between political life and real life that I hope the President will address later. The water tankers are for people who can’t check into hotels to shower and prepare for their day ahead. Yesterday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said he was also affected by the water cuts and checked into a hotel to get ready for work when there were water cuts at the Premier’s residence.

His statement has caused uproar and trended angrily and way above interest in #Sona26.

Speaking to Daily Maverick on the sidelines, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa denied that the SANDF had defied orders from President Cyril Ramaphosa to withdraw three Iranian warships from the multinational naval exercise Will for Peace, held in False Bay last month.

With a board of inquiry now established, I asked what action should be taken if indeed the board finds that Ramaphosa was sidelined. Holomisa responded: “There is no truth in that the President was defied.”

Pressed further, he was rather cheeky, saying: “Won’t you have the patience and wait for the outcome of the inquiry?”

Apparently, I may have to eat my words about Jacob Zuma never attending Sona after his presidency. The state broadcaster reports that JZ will indeed attend, while former president Thabo Mbeki has sent his apologies. I still wouldn’t put money on Zuma actually turning up.

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie at Sona.

According to PA leader and Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, things are looking real good for SA. “The rand is strong, tourism has reached record levels, we’re creating jobs and even better, there’s no more load shedding. We are not where we want to be, but we are not where we used to be,” says Mr Upbeat.

McKenzie also issued a warning to political parties – especially the DA, from whom it has recently stolen several wards in the Western Cape – ahead of the local government elections: “The PA is the fastest-growing political party in the country. In the Western Cape, the DA’s time is over. The DA is in ICU.”

Inside the Cape Town City Hall, as MPs and guests have started finding their seats.

Journalist on the red carpet asks former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, axed after Daily Maverick exposed the Digital Vibes corruption scandal, whether rumours of Mkhize running for the ANC presidency in 2027 are true.

“I haven’t heard, but you make up stories, maybe you know where that comes from,” Mkhize replies drily.

MK: Ramaphosa will say more of the same.

The official opposition, uMkhonto Wesizwe party (MK party), told Daily Maverick more of the same was expected from Ramaphosa and the GNU government.

The party’s whip on peace and security, Wesley Douglas, said “the State of the Nation Address is going to be more of the same – more promises of jobs, more promises of this project, that investment. But if he brings R1-trillion of investment and he announces it in the Sona, that R1-trillion investment doesn’t go to black business – that goes to white monopoly capital”.

Amnesty International has warned that unchecked corruption, rising violence and crime, and human rights failures threaten the State of the Nation (Sona).

“For many people across South Africa, daily life is becoming increasingly unsafe and uncertain. Corruption continues to drain public resources meant for basic services and social upliftment, and public trust in the police and justice system is steadily eroding,” said Amnesty International South Africa’s executive director, Shenilla Mohamed.

Mohamed cautioned that without “urgent action on corruption, safety and accountability, the state of the nation will continue to worsen”.

Good day from Cape Town City Hall, where President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the State of the Nation Address (Sona) at 7pm.

The state of municipalities is expected to feature significantly on the agenda, given that this is a local government election year. Other pressing matters include crime and the policing crisis, highlighted at the Madlanga Commission, and the ongoing gang violence experienced by many communities across the country

Before Ramaphosa speaks, MPs, politicians and guests will speak to journalists on the red carpet. This year, like many before it, attendees were being asked to wear outfits by local designers in an effort to promote “proudly South African” wear.

Daily Maverick journalists are here to speak to notable guests and provide insight and commentary as proceedings get under way.

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magweyna confirmed to Daily Maverick that the president had ordered Hlabisa and Majodina to “urgently” attend to the water crisis in Johannesburg, as the City’s water system again teetered on collapse.

Both Hlabisa and Majodina were already in Cape Town to attend Ramaphosa’s Sona on Thursday night, when plans changed.

“They won’t be attending [the] Sona as a result,” Magwenya said. “The president finds the Johannesburg water crisis deeply distressing and wants to have it resolved as soon as possible. He is equally concerned about reported water shortages in other parts of the country.

“Water is certainly going to be one of the central features of the reforms the president will be announcing tonight, and he will be keeping a close eye on both the immediate and long-term interventions,” he said

Ramaphosa must reconcile economic gains with SA’s harsh reality in his Sona

When President Cyril Ramaphosa takes to the podium in Cape Town to deliver his State of the Nation Address (Sona), he will do so from a relatively strong position.

Inside the ANC, he appears to face no challengers brave enough to stick their necks out in public.

In the government, he has shown himself to be almost indispensable to the coalition. His apparent lack of interest in the Budget last year nearly led to the coalition falling, but his intervention with other leaders after the Budget heralded a new era for his government.

Despite serious problems at some power stations, Eskom has put an end to load shedding. S&P Global has upgraded our rating. We were taken off the Financial Action Task Force grey list in record time. Our economy is growing. Interest rates have been cut and, perhaps most important of all, inflation is still coming down.

All of this could allow Ramaphosa to survey the scene around him and tell the millions of people who will watch the Sona on TikTok in a minibus on Friday morning that things are moving in the right direction.

He will be able to talk up his government’s very real recent achievements and suggest there is real momentum.

However, for almost everyone in South Africa, very little has changed — and there is little prospect of it changing.

Ramaphosa’s big Sona plans to fix SA’s problems will require political will and a courage he lacks

In 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa stood before Parliament quoting Ben Okri:

There has sadly been no “new era”, even as we see ourselves more clearly – a democracy struggling with deep inequality, wavering institutions and unacceptably high levels of corruption. After a decade of State Capture under former president Jacob Zuma we are still picking up the pieces and dealing with fresh corruption daily. Yet, despite the politicians, our country also remains one in which the hopeful rise every day and democracy is made and remade in communities across our seemingly intractable divides. How else would we survive in this bewildering place?

State of the Nation in the shadow of the water tanker

llustrative image: In 2025 President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to take ‘decisive action’ to resolve the water crisis, but a year later water tankers are still a common sight in many communities. (Photos: Leon Neal / Getty Images | Lefty Shivambu / Gal

Anything President Cyril Ramaphosa says in his State of the Nation Address will be overshadowed by the new national symbol: the water tanker.

Johannesburg, the country’s economic heartland, faces a near system collapse, denied by the City’s leaders but clear to its people, who took to the streets to protest this week. It’s a big city, so it attracts big attention, but its water story is repeated across the country. The water protests and the water tankers defined the state of the nation this week.

Oratorically speaking, Sona is so very nah

This Thursday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his ninth State of the Nation Address. Please try to stifle your yawns. Sona hasn’t been destination viewing since Julius Malema’s mob were rampaging around Jacob Zuma, provoking white-shirted bouncers and illegal cellphone signal jamming by the security agencies.

Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation report card

How is President Cyril Ramaphosa doing? On Thursday evening, he will say “it’s all good”. Some things are. The economy is looking up. There’s growing confidence. Energy reform stands out as a genuine success.

But almost everything else – from water to municipalities to jobs – tells a story of stalled delivery and unrealised promises. South Africa’s (SA’s) president has promised reform, professionalism and renewal. Our assessment of 10 State of the Nation Address (Sona) pledges from 2025 finds progress in energy and infrastructure – and repeated failure in local government, water, jobs and health.