MPs clashed over joblessness, policing failures and the legacy of past administrations during the second day of the Sona debate.
Parliament’s post-State of the Nation Address (Sona) debate continued at the Nieuwmeester Dome in Cape Town on Wednesday, with opposition parties honing in on youth unemployment, economic growth, and crime.
Punctuated with points of order, the joint sitting of the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) continued from Tuesday, following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Sona on Thursday, 12 February.
EFF accuses Ramaphosa of failed leadership
Nontando Nolutshungu, Chief Whip of the EFF in the National Assembly launched a scathing attack on Ramaphosa’s presidency, suggesting that he might be worse than former president Jacob Zuma.
“Mr president, when you took over from president Zuma, you and the clique around you decried nine wasted years under president Zuma. You launched yourself using the seminal song from our beloved Bra Hugh Masekela and declared, ‘Thuma mina’ (send me),” Nolutshungu said.
“It has been eight years since we sent you, and you still haven’t returned,” she added.
Nolutshungu pointed out that youth unemployment stands at over 50% and said the economy has not achieved sustainable growth above 3% in any single year under Ramaphosa’s leadership.
“Yours is a continuation of the wasted nine years under president Zuma. You are not different to him, and you might, in fact, be worse.”
She said Ramaphosa had presided over the most devastating collapse of municipalities in the country, pointing out that only 41 out of more than 257 municipalities got clean audits from the Auditor-General.
Crime and gang violence under scrutiny
During his speech last week, Ramaphosa said he would be deploying the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to support the police in the fight against gang violence.
ALSO READ: ‘You auctioned our country’: Opposition slams Ramaphosa’s Sona on economy, corruption and crime
Touching on gang violence, NCOP deputy chairperson and Inkatha Freedom Party member Les Govender decried the killing of a nine-month-old baby and two women on Tuesday.
Govender said it was a sad reality that needed to be stopped.
He also said communities across all provinces are anxiously looking forward to the outcomes of the Madlanga Commission, which is probing allegations of criminality, corruption and political interference within the criminal justice system.
“Citizens expect swift and decisive action towards strengthening the weaknesses in the criminal justice system,” Govender said.
Lessons from 2019 SANDF deployment
Western Cape Premier and DA member Alan Winde responded to Ramaphosa’s vow to focus on crime and to the deployment of the SANDF.
Winde said the crime in South Africa is out of control and that he supported Ramaphosa’s focus on fighting it.
Winde said there are lessons to be learnt from the last time the military was deployed, in 2019.
“We had an eight-month deployment of the military in 2019, and we didn’t get the traction that we should have,” he said.
“We need to make sure that the South African Police Service (SAPS), with the military, and included in the joint operation commands, the metro police, there’s law enforcement, the dog units, the traffic officials – both provincial and local.”
ALSO READ: Lesufi welcomes deployment of soldiers to tackle illegal mining in Gauteng
“The Community Policing Forums must be consulted. We need to work out how neighbourhood watches can be involved. Because if we don’t approach this differently, we are going to have the same results as 2019, and gangsterism will continue.”
A call to fill Saps vacancies
Winde also called for Saps vacancies to be filled.
He said when he first became premier in 2019, there were 200 000 police officers in the country, a number which now stands at 180 000.
In the Western Cape, the number declined from 20 000 to 12 908 police officers, Winde said.
“Those numbers are going down, and that is unacceptable,” the premier said.
“We also need to make sure that we get two areas of focus – the first is detectives, and the second is the anti-gang unit, or fighting gangsterism and fighting extortion.
“When it comes to detectives in South Africa, there are 8 500 vacancies. In this province, the Western Cape, there are just under 1 000 vacancies.”
MK Party attacks economic policy and inequality
Nhlamulo Ndhlela, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) spokesperson, described Ramaphosa’s speech as a tired recital of “neoliberal clichés” and an “empty hymn to markets and rating agencies for global approval”.
He said Ramaphosa spoke of progress while the country burns with unemployment.
ALSO READ: ‘We must fix local government’: Ramaphosa’s call is necessary, Salga says
“You spoke of reform while poverty tightens its grip. You spoke of renewal while inequality has become a permanent scar on the face of our people,” Ndhlela said.
The MKP member also criticised the government of national unity (GNU), calling it a coalition of convenience and “a cult” of white monopoly capital.
He also called for lifestyle audits for judges, saying transparency cannot stop at politicians.
Ndhlela also criticised Ramaphosa for mentioning opportunities while young people sit idle in townships and villages.
“Unemployment has become structure. Poverty has become the inheritance of the black child. Inequality has become normalised,” he said.
“As MK party, we say free, decolonised higher education is a non-negotiable right, not a slogan of every recycled February Sona.”
Ndhlela added that Ramaphosa cannot speak of economic reform while education remains commodified.
Ramaphosa will be responding to the NA and NCOP members in parliament on Thursday.
NOW READ: READ: President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address in full