President Cyril Ramaphosa said despite many challenges in the country, the government has managed to transform the lives of millions of South Africans since the dawn of democracy in 1994.
According to Ramaphosa, the government has been building a new society rooted in the equality promised by the constitution, equality of rights, of fundamental freedoms and of opportunity.
Ramaphosa was delivering his reply to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) debate held at the Cape Town City Hall, after two days of debates by members of parliament.
“The debate in this House over the last two days has shown that there are sharp differences among political parties about our past, our present and our future. These differences have no doubt been sharpened by the upcoming elections. Yet amidst all the contributions made in the debate, no speaker has been able to refute a fundamental reality: that the lives of millions of South Africans have been transformed over the 30 years of freedom,” said Ramaphosa.
His remarks follow criticism by opposition political parties that the government has failed to improve people’s lives, collapsed the economy, failed to deal with crime among other failures.
Ramaphosa however dismissed the sentiments, arguing that the recent statistics agree with the government’s position.
“This transformation is evident in the most recent census data, which shows extraordinary improvements on a range of social and economic indicators over the past three decades. This transformation is most evident in the lived experience of our people, who have witnessed the changes in their own communities and in their own lives,” explained Ramaphosa.
Despite the success, the president acknowledged that there are still challenges that must be confronted.
These include unemployment, energy challenges, economic growth, violent crime, corruption and failing municipalities among others.
The President said over the last five years, the government has made significant progress in restoring our economy to growth and to create jobs.
“Over the last five years, we have worked to increase investment in our economy, because it is through investment that we can create opportunities for employment and for the growth of new businesses. We have held five Investment Conferences, which have raised more than R1.5 trillion in commitments from investors,” said the President.
The president listed gains in the infrastructure development, citing building of schools, hospitals, water projects and rail infrastructures.
He said this has made it possible for the delivery of piped water to villages that had always relied on streams and boreholes, and the restoration of 26 out of 40 commuter rail lines.
He applauded some of the gains made at Eskom, highlighting that maintenance at the power utility plants has improved after a long period when the maintenance of the plants was neglected.
“While there is still much to be done to stabilise our electricity supply, there has been a steady and marked improvement in electricity supply since May last year,” noted Ramaphosa.
To help tackle corruption and prosecute those implicated in the state capture, Ramaphosa said over the last five years, the government has rebuilt law enforcement agencies and other anti-corruption bodies to ensure that those found in the wrong face prosecution.
Ramaphosa said to help mitigate poverty, hunger and the rising cost of living, the government introduced some grants and the special SRD grant to support around nine million unemployed people.
Ramaphosa said the nation’s journey towards a better future is not over and there’s still more to more to achieve.
“We are clear about the progress that we have made, the challenges that we face, and the actions that we must now take.
That is why we will continue, as we have always done, to build a better life for all of democracy’s children.
By working together, we will continue to write the story of our free nation and of a future of peace, comfort, and prosperity for all,” said the president.