Julius Malema accused government of selling sovereignty, while DA leaders claimed coalition governance is driving economic recovery.
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.
Malema accused Ramaphosa of ‘auctioning’ SA’s sovereignty
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.
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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.
“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.
Steenhuisen claims GNU is driving economic recovery
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).
He responded to the Sona with “measured optimism”, but Steenhuisen reframed his optimism as coalition-driven progress, not ANC-led recovery.
“The DA’s presence in this government has been a force for good, injecting competence, fiscal discipline, and pro-growth policies into a system long weighed down by mismanagement and cadre deployment,” the DA leader said.
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Ramaphosa classified foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) as a national disaster and said the state would mobilise all its capabilities to deal with this crisis.
Steenhuisen welcomed the declaration, and he detailed a science-based, private-sector-backed vaccination strategy, including the first local vaccine production in over 20 years.
FMD vaccination plan
“Millions of vaccine doses are being procured, and today I can announce that we will be receiving a delivery of 1 million vaccines from BioGenesis Bago this Saturday. The largest single import of vaccines to date,” the minister announced.
He added that the goal is to achieve an 80% vaccination rate of the national herd by December, with private veterinarians now able to administer vaccines.
President Ramaphosa outlined a national plan to tackle the water crisis, including elevating a presidential-led water crisis committee, deploying experts to struggling municipalities, and holding officials criminally accountable for failures.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the Water Action Plan aims to address immediate crises, propel reforms, and unlock investments in municipal water infrastructure.
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The minister also discussed Ramaphosa’s directive to strengthen the criminal justice system and fight organised crime by redeploying senior management structures of the South African Police Service (Saps) and metro police.
She confirmed that the State Security Agency (SSA) will prioritise the redeployment of police officers and management implicated in the Madlanga Commission and in metro departments, starting with the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department.
Ntshavheni added that engagements with Saps on the redeployment process have started.
Redeployment plan timeline
The SSA will hand the plan to Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia, and the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence by the end of February.
The president announced the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in the Western Cape and Gauteng to support the police in fighting against gang violence and illegal mining.
Cachalia confirmed that the Saps and SANDF will begin a joint deployment within ten days, and this will include deployment to the Eastern Cape.
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He said the deployment will be informed by past lessons and constitutional mandates, while also strengthening anti‑gang units and specialised intelligence‑driven teams.
“Multi-disciplinary task teams, including the National Prosecuting Authority under the leadership of its newly appointed head Advocate Mothibi, skilled and experienced detectives, officials from the Special Investigating Unit and the South African Revenue Service – amongst others – will be targeting the leadership, finances, firearms and logistics of these criminal networks,” he said.
Police accountability and reform
In terms of police accountability and reform, the acting minister emphasised the implementation of the Madlanga commission’s recommendations.
He said vetting and lifestyle audits for Saps senior management and the potential establishment of a National Police Board would guide police reform.
“Public trust in the police is crucial for our success. This can be achieved through enhanced accountability, professionalism, and constitutionalism,” he said.
Lastly, ActionSA’s parliamentary leader, Athol Trollip, launched a strong attack on the illegal cigarette and alcohol trade, saying it destroys jobs and public health, while politically connected figures escape accountability.
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“You said that corrupt criminals will face consequences, yet you, yourself, face no consequences for the illicit possession of foreign currency to the value of $580 000. Once more, you failed to report the theft of this contraband to the Saps,” Trollip said.
He added that the government failed to address corruption, mentioning many ANC ministers implicated but who have not faced the consequences of their actions.
‘Systematic neglect’
Trollip also criticised the government’s response to the FMD outbreak, describing it as “systematic neglect” and a collapse of public health facilities.
He criticised Steenhuisen for sitting on reports, delaying vaccination and focusing on movement controls instead of urgent prevention.