<\/p>\n
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has harshly criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s State of the Nation Address (SONA), dismissing it as \u201cnothing but waffle and empty words.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no plan. The president doesn\u2019t account for what he said before this State of the Nation Address. The previous one was \u2018Tshwanelo,\u2019 the other one was \u2018Thuma Mina,\u2019\u201d Malema told the media outside Cape Town City Hall on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
His remarks followed Ramaphosa\u2019s first SONA under the Government of National Unity (GNU), established after the 2024 general elections.<\/p>\n
Malema argued that Ramaphosa\u2019s address lacked accountability.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe uses this platform to just come and waffle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
To address South Africa\u2019s unemployment rate\u2014currently at 32.1%\u2014Ramaphosa announced the government\u2019s plan to invest in infrastructure over the next three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government will spend more than R940 billion on infrastructure over the next three years. This includes R375 billion in spending by state-owned companies,\u201d Ramaphosa said.<\/p>\n
He added that the funding would revitalise roads and bridges, build dams and waterways, modernise ports and airports, and support economic growth.<\/p>\n
However, Malema dismissed the plan, questioning its feasibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says infrastructure is going to be developed, so much money has been put aside, but where and how? There\u2019s no plan. It\u2019s just utterances to pass time,\u201d Malema said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows very well that he will not be challenged by those he\u2019s convening with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malema also questioned whether the investment would effectively address South Africa\u2019s sluggish economic growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think that will take us out of low growth levels?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
He cited previous promises, such as R1 million allocated for disaster relief in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), which he claimed had yet to materialise.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has spoken about building one million houses in Alexandra (Gauteng). Those houses are not built,\u201d Malema said.<\/p>\n
However, on 30 August last year, News reported that Ramaphosa apologised to Alexandra residents, clarifying that his government never promised to build one million houses specifically for the area. He explained that the commitment referred to a national target over five years, with some housing allocated for Stjwetla, an overcrowded part of Alexandra.<\/p>\n
Malema remained sceptical of Ramaphosa\u2019s infrastructure commitments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever R900 billion he\u2019s talking about, you must know he\u2019s just passing time. He\u2019s not a man who follows through on what he committed to during the State of the Nation Address,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ramaphosa announced <\/span>that he will set up a transformation fund worth R20 billion a year over the next five years to fund black-owned and small business enterprises.<\/span><\/p>\n Malema dismissed the plan, saying: \u201cHe’s still saying we’re going to make sure that we develop the guidelines to make sure that it is not subjected to red tapes and all manner of things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He referred to the Giyani water project in Limpopo, another unfulfilled promise.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe spoke about water during the Giyane project. When he became the president, one of the things we said to him was the completion of the Giyane project. Till today, the project has not been implemented.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The bulk water project, which began in 2014, was meant to be completed by 2017 but has been delayed despite an estimated R4 billion already spent. <\/span><\/p>\n The project was revived in 2021 and, once finished, is expected to supply water to 55 villages in Giyani.<\/span><\/p>\n Ramaphosa acknowledged that cities, towns, and villages were experiencing more and more frequent water shortages as a result of failing water infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are, therefore, taking a series of decisive actions to resolve the water crisis, to enable our people to get water where they live, whether in townships or rural areas.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He said the government was investing heavily in expanding the water resources.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTo date, the Infrastructure Fund has secured R23 billion for seven large water infrastructure projects,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe have ended delays in major water infrastructure projects like Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and the uMkhomazi Dam. Work is under way to prepare for construction of the Ntabelanga Dam on the uMzimvubu River to supply additional water for domestic use and irrigation in the Eastern Cape.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Ramaphosa said the government will complete within the next year the establishment of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency to unlock much greater investment in water projects.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThrough the Water Services Amendment Bill, we will introduce a licensing system for water service providers and remove licenses where providers do not meet the standards for quality drinking water.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Malema, however, argued that Ramaphosa is skilled at announcing large sums of money, but fails to deliver the results.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEven during the height of Coronavirus (Covid-19) he was every speech putting numbers. But we’ve never seen any legacy of those billions that he spoke about, even during Covid,\u201d Malema said.<\/span><\/p>\n Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has harshly criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s State of the Nation Address (SONA), dismissing it as \u201cnothing but waffle and empty words.\u201d \u201cThere is no plan. The president doesn\u2019t account for what he said before this State of the Nation Address. The previous one was \u2018Tshwanelo,\u2019 the other one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[12819,964,420,1037,446,17606,1541],"class_list":["post-231127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-empty","tag-malema","tag-ramaphosas","tag-slams","tag-sona","tag-waffle","tag-words"],"yoast_head":"\n