Ramaphosa's SONA unlikely to account for failures - analyst
President Cyril Ramaphosa has put the final touches to his last State of the Nation Address before South Africans head to the polls later this year.
The address is meant to outline what has been done by the government over the past year, as well as its priorities for the remaining months of the administration.
This year’s SONA carries extra significance.
Not only does it come in a year when the country celebrates 30 years of democracy – but also ahead of what is expected to be the most hotly-contested elections since 1994.
While Ramaphosa will spend some time detailing the achievements of the last 30 years in his speech, there is also an expectation for him not to shy away from the government’s failures.
But opposition parties and analysts are already warning that Ramaphosa is likely to ignore most of the negatives.
Political analyst Amanda Gouws believes Ramaphosa is likely to craft a speech with one eye on the elections.
"He will try to inspire the citizens to vote for the ANC through his SONA.
“He will tell us about the promises that have been fulfilled from last year's SONA, like how many entrepreneurs have been helped, how many jobs have been created, how many toilets have been built for schools and so on.
“So, it will likely come in a form of stats," says Gouws.
Gouws says Ramaphosa is unlikely to still blame bad governance by the ANC for any of the issues facing the country.
"This is highly unlikely to inspire the people who live on the receiving end of bad service delivery, those without water, electricity, roads and transport.
“He will have to pull a rabbit out of the hat to inspire people to vote the ANC," says Gouws.
An announcement of the election date is also on the list of things many would like to hear,
The Presidency's Vincent Magwenya says an election date will be announced within the next 15 days.
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