Political parties, healthcare funders, and civil society organisations have intensified their pressure on President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of this week’s State of the Nation Address (Sona), calling on him to move beyond rhetoric and announce concrete, time-bound reforms to tackle inequality.
The GOOD Party called on Ramaphosa to confront four urgent national priorities, including education, economic growth linked to human rights and national security, criminal justice, and housing, warning that surface-level optimism risks masking deep structural failures.
“When President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers the State of the Nation Address this week, he cannot afford to bask in the green shoots of the economy that emerged last year,” said Brett Herron, GOOD secretary-general.
On education, Herron argued that headline matric results hide entrenched inequality, particularly between fee-paying and no-fee schools.
“The matric pass rate is not a measure of systemic progress,” Herron said. “For instance, while this year’s pass rate was good, less well-publicised was the fact that children from no-fee schools performed relatively worse than those at fee-paying schools.”
He stated that these disparities extend to higher education, frequently leaving poor students stranded.
“In February, we see the knock-on consequences that poor basic education for poor people has on higher education. Students suffer the indignity of living on the streets with their luggage,” Herron said.
SA vulnerable to unrest
Regarding the economy and social stability, GOOD warns that without a proper basic income grant, South Africa remains vulnerable to unrest.
“The new official food poverty line for 2026 is R855 a month. In that context, the R370-a-month SRD [social relief of distress] grant that 9-million jobless adults receive is hugely insufficient.”
He added that the government must commit to a far more ambitious growth path.
“The growth and inclusion strategy of the government of national unity needs clear deliverables for members of the executive, targeting the minimum 5% annual economic growth rate we need,” Herron said.
Healthcare funders are also pressing Ramaphosa to announce immediate, practical reforms that could ease costs and expand access while national health insurance (NHI) remains tied up in challenges.
“The NHI will take years to implement, but low-cost benefit options could be made available almost immediately,” said Dr Katlego Mothudi, the managing director of the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF).
“With the decisive leadership from the regulator, we could rapidly expand access to affordable healthcare for millions of South Africans who currently fall through the cracks.”
The BHF estimates that low-cost benefit options could enable an additional 10-million South Africans to afford private healthcare cover.
“It has been over a year since the government invited public comment on draft block exemption regulations, but there has been no movement.
“Yet, schemes and their members are left in limbo, even though we have the tools to improve affordability,” Mothudi said.
Unfulfilled promises
Civil society activists, meanwhile, say communities are still waiting for last year’s Sona promises to materialise.
“Year after year, the nation is presented with ambitious plans, bold language, and renewed undertakings from the highest office in the land,” said Siyabulela Jentile of Civic Root Advocacy.
“Yet on the ground, millions of South Africans continue to experience failing service delivery, collapsing municipalities, persistent unemployment, and a widening distance between government and the people it is meant to serve.”
He said credibility in 2026 will be judged by tangible change, not speeches.
“As South Africa moves closer to the 2026 local government elections, the credibility of this year’s State of the Nation Address will not be measured by rhetoric but by what has tangibly changed in communities since the last address,” Jentile said, noting that the Sona must move beyond recycling promises.
“South Africans are not suffering from a lack of policies or plans; they are suffering from weak implementation, poor coordination across spheres of government, limited accountability, and a persistent absence of consequence management.”
Ramaphosa is expected to deliver his Sona on Thursday evening in Cape Town.
