Opposition parties have expressed mixed reactions to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA), with the GOOD Party praising Ramaphosa’s steady and diplomatic tone in the face of US provocation.

Ramaphosa delivered his SoNA on Thursday, where he highlighted that South Africans would not be bullied, as the country deals with tension with the US.

Following the signing of the Expropriation Bill into law by Ramaphosa, the country was accused by US President Donald Trump of confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people “very bad”, describing the alleged situation as a massive human rights violation.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated his President’s stance, pointing out that he will not attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg, as “South Africa is doing very bad things”.

GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said Ramaphosa’s plan to send delegations to engage world leaders to dispel the false narratives is a positive and proactive step.

“His steadfast references to the values of compassion, empathy and humanity were an excellent start. He is correct that South Africa has lessons to teach the world about cooperative problem-solving and nation building. His steady and diplomatic tone in the face of US provocation was commendable, as was his recommitment to peace for Ukrainians and Palestinians,” noted Herron.

He also noted that Ramaphosa walked a “coalition tightrope” in his SoNA, balancing the urgent need to address high rates of poverty and inequality with the needs of the business sector for a stable environment conducive to economic growth to facilitate this.

“…his commitment to use the Social Release of Distress Grant as the basis for a more sustainable social relief mechanism was very important. This commitment must translate into the implementation of a Basic Income Grant of at least R999 a month in the next financial year,” Herron said.

However, he said aiming for 3% annual growth of the economy was not enough to meaningfully dent the unemployment and poverty rates.

He said South Africa needed to grow at a minimum of 5% a year, for several consecutive years.

“[Ramaphosa] signalled that the pending reform would include privatising elements in the electricity, freight, rail and port sectors. There was much in the President’s speech that was good, but the proof of the pudding will be in the implementation and delivery,” Herron said.

Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) called for a clear plan for economic transformation that prioritised black empowerment, job creation, and service delivery.

The party rejected, with contempt, what it termed a directionless, inept and incoherent SoNA, saying it was nothing but a desperate attempt to mask the catastrophic failures of, what it has labelled, "the neoliberal, right-wing so called Government of National Unity (GNU)".

“Since the formation of the GNU, this unholy alliance between the African National Congress (ANC) and the racist Democratic Alliance (DA) has delivered nothing but chaos, regression, and suffering for the people of South Africa, particularly workers and the poor. The GNU was supposedly established to stabilise the economy, promote economic growth, reduce poverty, and build a capable and ethical state—yet, in every measurable aspect, it has failed dismally,” the EFF said.

The party pointed out that when he opened the seventh administration in July last year, Ramaphosa “boldly proclaimed” that the GNU would place inclusive growth at the centre of its agenda.

“…this was supposedly meant to drive job creation, empower black South Africans and uplift the most vulnerable. However, South Africa’s economy remains in a dire state, with economic growth averaging below 1.5% annually and projected to grow by less than 2% over the next three years,” the EFF said.

The party believes that instead of implementing bold State-led industrial policies, the GNU has left South Africa’s economy at the mercy of white-owned private businesses that prioritise profits over national development while the masses remain jobless and impoverished.

“The cost of living crisis has worsened, with inflation pushing working class families to the brink of survival. Just last week, there was an approved 12.7% hike in electricity tariffs set to take effect in April and an increase in fuel process by 75 cents a litre.”

uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said Ramaphosa’s SoNA reflected a failed State.

“We can tell that this man has got no ideas whatsoever, ever since he has been President, our country if you look at the population rate, the growth rate we grow at 1.3%, yet our GDP per capita [growth] is at 0.7%, so that alone tell us that South Africans are getting poorer, it’s a disaster.

“…he talks about local municipalities, all he is doing is privatising water and electricity, he is setting up entities and we mentioned this in Parliament because we could see there is another way of privatising water and electricity and so-called introducing grants to fund these initiatives, meanwhile these are loans coming from IMF and World Bank,” Ndhlela said.

MKP leader Dr Joh Hlophe said he expected a lot from Ramaphosa’s SoNA.

“It was boring, uninspiring, one expected quite a lot from someone who is the head of State, for me personally I thought the President’s starting point was going to give us an update on the promises that were made last year in the SoNA; he identified three priorities: poverty, inequality and housing, he didn’t deal with any of those at length,” he explained.

He said Ramaphosa was talking about an ideal nation, a united South Africa, united in diversity, and stated that no attempts were being made by government to eradicate racism.

“It’s 30 years in the making, it’s the black people who are the victims of racism in this country. He does not talk about the land; the land is critical to us in addressing poverty and inequality,” Hlophe said.

He noted that last year Ramaphosa said that 25% of land had been brought back to black people as part of the land redistribution programme.

“…that is not true, 1.9% of the land is in private hands, that includes [Ramaphosa's farm] Phala Phala.”

POLICIES

DA leader John Steenhuisen said the party was pleased its policies were front and centre in Ramaphosa’s SoNA, stating that at national, provincial, and local levels, DA-led initiatives were highlighted and acknowledged as key drivers of progress and reform.

“This recognition affirms the vital role that the DA has played in shaping government policy across the spectrum of governance. From national government to municipal level, our Ministers and representatives have been at the forefront of the reforms necessary for economic growth, job creation, and service delivery,” explained Steenhuisen.

He highlighted that DA Ministers hadbeen instrumental in pushing reforms that would pave the way for a “more prosperous, inclusive, and competitive South Africa".

“Whilst this is promising, we need to radically speed up the pace at which these reforms take place. In particular, the competitive energy market must be actioned within 12 months, port concessions must be in place by the end of this year and rail concessions by early next year,” he said.

The party said it would continue to use its influence to address some of the problematic policies that were not promoting jobs and growth.