‘GNU responsible for country’s success’, MPs say in response to Ramaphosa’s Sona

President Cyril Ramaphosa’sState of the Nation address(Sona) last week reflected a country that has begun to turn the corner after years of stagnation, highlighting tangible progress brought by the Democratic Alliance’s participation in the government of national unity (GNU), the party’s leader John Steenhuisen said on Tuesday. During debate on the Sona, Steenhuisen — who is the minister of agriculture in the coalition government formed after Ramaphosa’s ANC lost its outright parliament majority in 2024 — said much of the progress made “bears the unmistakable imprint of the DA’s principled participation” which had injected “competence, fiscal discipline and pro-growth policies into a system that was long weighed down by mismanagement and cadre deployment”. He said thewater crisisin cities such as Johannesburg, bureaucratic barriers faced by business owners, infrastructure challenges, cadre deployment, failed empowerment frameworks, joblessness and crime were still a concern.

Steenhuisen welcomed Ramaphosa’s announcement of the army’s deployment to tackle illegal mining and gang violence but added: “We need sustained intelligence led policing, faster courts and communities empowered to partner with the law enforcement closer to the people.” He welcomed the classification of foot and mouth disease as a national emergency, calling it a massive challenge that would require collaborative, transparent and sustained effort to resolve. The agriculture department was building a science-based facility to tackle the outbreak with a priority to secure large scale vaccines and achieve 80% vaccination of the national herd by December, Steenhuisen added. Economic Freedom Fighters leader and MP Julius Malema accused Ramaphosa of “auctioning” the country by allowing private sector participation in the logistics sector as well as energy generation, adding: “And now you want to do the same with our water.” The president had failed to take responsibility for the prevalence of crime and lack of job creation, infrastructure development as well as lacklustre economic growth, Malema added.

Ramaphosa’s deployment of the South African National Defence Force to crack down on illegal mining and gang violence was an admission of failure of the South African Police Service, Malema said. “On the deployment of the army we have no choice but to support you because you have destroyed law enforcement capacity. Our concern is how do you deploy a military which has been crippled by austerity measures to fight crime?” Malema said.

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He said the country’s budget surplus was an indication of austerity by the coalition government, rather than a positive economic indicator. “Why would you be proud of a budget surplus in a country with massive unemployment, collapsing municipal infrastructure and poverty which is leading to the death of children in the Eastern Cape,” he said. ANC member and Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni highlighted the successes of Operation Vulindlela in rebuilding rail and bridge infrastructure, hailing it as a successful initiative by the party.

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