‘You auctioned our country’: Opposition slams Ramaphosa’s Sona on economy, corruption and crime

President Cyril Ramaphosa at the State of The Nation Address (Sona) at Cape Town City Hall on February 12, 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa. Picture: Gallo Images/Jeffrey Abrahams Parliament’s post-State of the Nation Address (Sona) debate laid bare divisions, with opposition leaders challenging the government’s economic direction, accountability, and reform agenda. Following the Sona on Thursday, parliament met again on Tuesday for a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.

During the address, President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised the importance of private-sector involvement in South Africa’s ports, rail, and energy generation to attract investment and drive growth while maintaining public ownership and oversight. EFF leader Julius Malema accused the president of “auctioning” South African sovereignty to private capital by handing over strategic assets to private and foreign interests. “You auctioned our country by selling our ports, our railway, and our energy generation capacity to the private sector, and now you want to do the same with water,” he said.

Malema did not frame public-private partnerships as reform but as a loss of national sovereignty. He accused Ramaphosa of failing to take accountability for creating jobs, fighting crime, infrastructure development, and growing the economy. The EFF leader also zeroed in on the president’s unresolved corruption issues, especially the Phala Phala scandal and the sealing of the CR12 documents.

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“Where is the transparency you are talking about? You said you are going to be an honest man who’s going to be an open book. That your door will remain open, and today your door remains closed,” Malema said.

During the Sona, Ramaphosa said the economy is growing again with four consecutive quarters of gross domestic product growth, improved credit ratings, lower interest rates, and the lowest inflation in 20 years. DA leader and Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen argued that South Africa’s improving economic indicators were not accidental but the direct result of the DA’s participation in the government of national unity (GNU).

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