There were mixed reactions by Members of Parliament (MP) regarding the State of The Nation (SONA) delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa last Thursday at the Cape Town City Hall.
Tintswalo, corruption, load shedding and crime, are some of the topics that dominated the response on the first of the two days set aside for MPs to respond to the SONA.
Opening the joint debate, African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina, defended SONA, describing it as a balanced and honest reflection of what is happening in the country.
“We as the ANC and the nation, we are inspired by the President’s address last Thursday. The President has detailed the undertaking from 2023 SONA,” said Majodina.
She highlighted that there were however some challenges.
“The progress is inspiring, I repeat, the progress is inspiring alongside many challenges that we have outlined, notwithstanding two years of COVID-19. This government has done all that it could do. The President gave an honest, balanced reflection of where we stand as a nation,” explained Majodina.
She added that the ANC’s performance is backed up by statistics and challenged opposition parties to go and verify them. But this was dismissed by the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) John Steenhuisen.
He accused Ramaphosa of disappointing Tintswalo whom the President used in his analogy during SONA, adding that she’s never “been more disillusioned by the freedom that has left her unemployed, living in a shack without water and electricity, whose father has been murdered and who fears for her safety.”
Steenhuisen labelled the ANC as the biggest threats for freedom.
“Every time the lights go out, every time the taps run dry, every time the criminals attack us in our homes, every time a small business shuts down, every time a child dies of hunger, it reminds us of all of the dream that we have lost.”
“Watching the President stand at this podium and sing the praises of a country that no longer exists, made all South Africans more resolute that this is the year we must remove the ANC to rescue our dreams,” said Steenhuisen.
His sentiments were echoed by the leader of Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) Velinkosi Hlabisa, who said Ramaphosa’s Tintswalo is out of touch with today’s youth.
“Unlike Tintswalo, 41% of our youth are unemployed. Thousands of NSFAS beneficiaries are sitting at home with their degrees and diplomas, without jobs, and their dreams are fading away. Millions of children of democracy still live in shacks and informal settlements, with no clean water, toilets or refuse removal. Their only connection to Tintswalo is that she, too, sites vulnerable in the dark, on stage 6 load-shedding,” explained Hlabisa.
Other smaller political parties also dismissed SONA, describing it as not reflecting the challenges faced by many people in the country.
Despite calls by presiding officers that MP’s must conduct themselves appropriately, Parliament again witnessed an unpleasant behaviour.
This after a DA MP Michael Bagraim was asked to leave the house, after he showed a middle finger towards one of the ANC MP’s who was addressing the house.
The debate is scheduled to continue Wednesday, and Ramaphosa is expected to reply to the debate on his SONA on Thursday at 14:00.