Cosatu calls for bold action ahead of Sona

Cosatu says it has “high expectations” for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of nation address (Sona), calling on the government to act decisively on unemployment, economic growth, crime and failing public services. The trade union federation said the Sona, to be delivered in parliament on February 12, must respond to “cries and hopes of the working class and society in general”. Government plans for the year must focus on South Africa’s “dangerously high unemployment rate of 42.4% and sluggish 1% economic growth”, as well as “entrenched levels of poverty and inequality, and endemic crime and corruption”.

It welcomed progress in ending load-shedding but warned that electricity prices remain “increasingly unaffordable”. It called for prepaid billing for all consumers and action on the “R100bn municipal debt, corruption and other acts of criminality, wasteful expenditure and enabling Eskom to enter the renewable energy space”. Efficient rails and ports are key to thousands of mining, manufacturing and agricultural jobs as well as to providing 10-million urban commuters cheap and fast means to get to work Cosatu also called for faster reforms at Transnet and Metro Rail, saying improvements must be accelerated to protect jobs and commuters.

“Efficient rails and ports are key to thousands of mining, manufacturing and agricultural jobs as well as to providing 10-million urban commuters cheap and fast means to get to work,” it said. The trade union federation raised concern about struggling state-owned enterprises, saying turnaround plans were urgently needed for Denel, the SABC, Post Office and Postbank, which it said continue to suffer from “incompetent and weak management”. On public services, Cosatu said the government must “close the chapter of failed neo-liberal austerity policies and budgets” and ensure front-line services are properly funded and staffed.

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It praised the “remarkable turnaround at the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and South African Airways” as proof that public institutions can work. Cosatu also warned that crime has reached unacceptable levels, saying South Africa can no longer “treat criminals with kid gloves” or allow violent crime to become normal in working-class communities. It called for an “aggressive marshall plan led by President Ramaphosa” to strengthen policing, prosecutions and the courts. The federation urged government to introduce a large stimulus package to support industrialisation, small businesses and job creation, saying such action was “long overdue”.

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