‘No hope’ – low expectations from opposition parties ahead of State of the Nation Address

President Cyril Ramaphosa will detail the state of South Africa in an address to a hybrid sitting of Parliament on Thursday evening.  

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and Congress of the People (Cope) both say they cannot see the president’s speech inspiring confidence in government’s plans for the year ahead.

“We expect nothing from the overrated speech of Cyril Ramaphosa,” says EFF spokesperson Vuyani Pambo.

“We know very well that much of what he has said before hasn’t been resolved. He is the president that promised the people of Alexandra one million houses and today we still got nothing.

“He is not someone we can throw our hopes on, if anything he does the opposite of what he is asked to do.”

Pambo says any money allocated for service delivery will only end up in the pockets of the corrupt.

“We asked him to go and fetch the vaccine and he came with the opposite of what a vaccine is, so we do not expect anything. We do not have any hope on him.

“What we do know is that there is going to be corruption. Any money that is shared for anything, that money is shared between the corrupt and the little service that they will pretend to provide.”

Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota says it is difficult to expect anything positive to come from Ramaphosa’s speech.

“I am very sad to say that I can't see what he is going to be able to address. Look at the state of this virus and the economy is so shattered.

“I don’t want to pretend to see things that he can’t see. I don’t know what he will say that will make sense to many South Africans.”

Meanwhile, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Velenkosini Hlabisa says Ramaphosa needs to provide details on government’s plans to rebuild the economy.

“He must take us in confidence with regard to rebuilding the economy, the creation of job opportunities, not creating hopes which will not be fulfilled. He has to come up with a clear plan as to where the money will come from.”

Hlabisa believes Ramaphosa has failed to bring corruption under control.

“I wouldn’t expect the president to speak to ANC comrades on corruption tonight because this is out of his control now. We must just wait and see how the Zondo commission is going to finalise its task, and the recommendations it will make as to who will get arrested and who will get a severe sentence.

“The president, several times now, has demonstrated that the issue of crime is a political matter that engulfed the ANC and he doesn’t have considerable support within the NEC to crack down.”

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