Labour federation Cosatu has urged Cyril Ramaphosa to raise the bar when delivering his first State of the Nation Address (Sona) as the president of a coalition government, warning that a business-as-usual approach will simply not cut it.
The call comes as Ramaphosa is scheduled to deliver his 2025 Sona on Thursday evening.
“The challenges facing South Africa and, in particular, the working class are immense. A bold, decisive, and progressive set of interventions is needed,” said Cosatu’s parliamentary coordinator, Matthew Parks.
“A business-as-usual approach will simply not do given our many crises, in particular our 41.9% unemployment rate, entrenched poverty and inequality, endemic crime and corruption, struggling public and municipal services, embattled state-owned enterprises [SOE], and meagre economic growth.”
Parks said the government needs to focus on key interventions to capacitate the state, stimulate the economy, and slash unemployment.
When it comes to SOEs, Cosatu believes Ramaphosa should ensure that Eskom has the financial, law enforcement, and infrastructure support to provide reliable and affordable electricity.
Dysfunctional municipalities
“Similar interventions [are needed] to stabilise and rebuild Transnet, including debt relief, to unlock the jobs-rich mining, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors, as well as Metro Rail, which is key to transporting millions of workers daily, as well as other struggling SOEs, in particular SABC, Denel, SA Post Office, and the Postbank,” said Parks.
He added that Ramaphosa should come up with urgent interventions to stem the rise in the number of dysfunctional municipalities, including a new financial model and a move towards the district development model.
Parks pleaded with the government to abandon austerity budget cuts, which are crippling the ability of the state to provide the quality public services the working class and the economy depend upon, in particular health, police, courts, home affairs, schools, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, and the SA Revenue Service, among others.
Black Management Forum (BMF) president Mpho Motsei said the wrangling at the recent Cabinet Lekgotla suggests that the Sona will be an assortment of common denominators arduously concocted by the ANC, DA, and its coalition partners.
“That being said, the BMF remains hopeful that the basic minimum programme of priorities stipulated in the GNU [government of national unity] statement of intent will be turned into an actionable plan,” said Motsei.
He said the BMF was in full support of the fundamental principles of the statement of intent, which include inclusive economic growth, tackling poverty and inequality, stabilising local government, investing in education, building a meritocracy, and ensuring its effectiveness and accountability, among other things.
SMME investment is the way to go
“The domestic economy is still far too concentrated, and there are too many barriers to market entry and anti-competitive practices, which hinder the country from being self-sufficient.
“As long as the country continues to grow at a meagre 1%, we cannot expect to create jobs or raise the capital that would allow us to develop the infrastructure we need for a world-class economy.
“The … only way out of this quagmire is to invest in the SMME [small, medium, and micro enterprise] sector so we can grow the economy from the bottom up, and we hope to see this prioritised in the Sona,” he said.
Motsei added that the government’s formation of the Transformation Fund was a positive step towards creating a more inclusive economy and urged more of the same.
Statistics show that in 2024 there was economic contraction and a consistent reduction of jobs, poverty levels persisted, and levels of inequality showed no signs of abating.
Motsei explained: “The government needs to take an intentional and aggressive approach to tackling these challenges. This year will be a crucial one for the country.”
Trump presidency
He said Ramaphosa must find a way of navigating through US President Donald Trump’s foreign policy minefield.
“There are critical shifts in the foreign policy agenda under the Trump presidency, and the withdrawal of USAID is expected to be accompanied by other withdrawals of both aid and foreign direct investment.
“South Africa will, therefore, have to walk the tightrope of looking out as it continues its engagement in AGOA, G20, and BRICS while looking within to create a self-sustaining economy that is unmoved by foreign politics.”
Black Business Council chief executive Kganki Matabane said they expect Ramaphosa to announce the formation of the R100 billion fund by the department of trade and industry with timelines.
“We also expect the president to indicate measures that the government will embark on to ensure that there is a massive job creation to deal with our serious unemployment and how to grow the economy in the GNU,” said Matabane.
