President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers the state of the nation address. (GCIS)
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday delivered a State of the Nation address intently focused on infrastructure reform as a path to economic growth, but suffused with defiance towards US President Donald Trump’s administration after a week in which it suspended donor aid to the country.
“We will not be deterred,” Ramaphosa said. “We are a resilient people. We will not be bullied. We will stand together as a united nation.”
Ramaphosa said the funding freeze had put the treatment of people in HIV programmes at risk, as well as the target of extending treatment to 1.1 million more, and his government was exploring ways of making up the shortfall.
“We are concerned about the potential impact of the decision by the United States government to suspend some of its funding for HIV and TB programmes in African countries for 90 days,” he said.
“This funding accounts for about 17% of our country’s HIV spend.”
But South Africa would not abandon long-held policies of racial redress or respect for diversity — policies Trump is dismantling domestically and denouncing abroad — or the commitment to fighting climate change.
Nor, he said, would it reconsider its historical solidarity with the Palestinian people, before defending South Africa’s decision to accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza.
“South Africa continues to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine who, having endured decades of illegal occupation, are now experiencing indescribable suffering,” he said.
“South Africa has acted in accordance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention by instituting proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice.”
Ramaphosa warned that the world was experiencing fundamental shifts and seeing the rise of nationalism and protectionism, “the pursuit of narrow interests and the decline of common cause”.
It was a difficult world for a developing nation to navigate and South Africa would do so while staying true to its values, he added.
“We will speak with one voice in defence of our national interest, our sovereignty and our constitutional democracy.
“As South Africans, we stand for peace and justice, for equality and solidarity. We stand for non-racialism and democracy, for tolerance and compassion.”
Speaking eight months after he led the ANC into a government of national unity with nine smaller parties, Ramaphosa said all partners had resolved to work towards the strategic priorities of growth and employment, reducing poverty and creating a capable state.
The state’s first line of delivery should be at municipal level, where it can make a tangible difference to people’s lives, Ramaphosa said, turning to one of the priorities added to the growing to-do list of Operation Vulindlela, the joint project management unit in the presidency and the treasury.
“Many municipalities have not reinvested the revenue they earn from these services into the upkeep of infrastructure.
“Starting this year, we will work with our municipalities to establish professionally managed, ringfenced utilities for water and electricity services to ensure that there is adequate investment and maintenance.”
Ramaphosa dwelled at some length on the country’s escalating water crisis, and said the return of load-shedding for two days in the past week was a reminder that its electricity supply remained constrained.
“It is impossible to live without water and it is impossible for the economy to grow without water,” he said. “We 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. We are investing heavily in expanding our water resources.”
He recalled that the Infrastructure Fund had found R23 billion for seven water infrastructure projects and reiterated that the state will overhaul the licensing system for water service providers and suspend the licences of those who failed to provide potable water.
The president promised that this year would finally see the government put in place “the building blocks” of a competitive electricity market and to allow multiple electricity generation entities to emerge and compete. He also committed to finding private sector investment to expand the transmission network and bring more renewable energy on line.
“As we reform our energy system, we are continuing to build successful multilateral partnerships in the global effort to halt the devastating impact of climate change,” he said.
“Our Just Energy Transition is gaining momentum. Over 13 billion US dollars have been pledged by the international community and significant private capital is being invested locally. We are determined to meet our carbon reduction commitments and will do so at a pace and scale that our country can afford.”
The just transition is a key theme of South Africa’s year-long presidency of the G20 but its agenda, both in this regard and on the reform of multi-lateral institutions, is expected to be frustrated by the US, the most powerful member of the forum.
This was confirmed earlier on Thursday when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio tweeted that he would not attend this month’s G20 meeting of foreign ministers in protest at what he termed the host’s “anti-Americanism”.
Ramaphosa said South Africa remained committed to steering the G20 with the same principles that guided its foreign policy — the promotion of human rights and peace and the pursuit of fair trade and investment ties with other countries.
“It is an opportunity to place the needs of Africa and the rest of the Global South more firmly on the international development agenda,” he said.
“Our G20 presidency is a valuable opportunity for South Africa to advance efforts towards greater global economic growth and sustainable development.”
Domestically, South Africa needed to lift economic growth to above 3%, Ramaphosa stressed, and to achieve this it needed “massive” investment in new infrastructure, while upgrading and maintaining existing infrastructure.
The state was committed to spending R940 billion on this goal over the next three years but needed to find innovative ways of accessing more funding to build roads and rail networks and upgrade ports and airports to “power our economy”.
“We are engaging local and international financial institutions and investors to unlock R100 billion in infrastructure financing. A project preparation bid window has been launched to fast-track investment readiness.”
Ramaphosa has been criticised for centralising power and project planning in his office. His speech signalled he would continue to drive much-needed structural reform in this manner.
“The economic reforms that we are implementing through Operation Vulindlela have created a new sense of optimism and confidence in our economy,” he said.
“Over the coming year, we will initiate a second wave of reform to unleash more rapid and inclusive growth. Our immediate focus is to enable Eskom, Transnet and other state-owned enterprises that are vital to our economy to function optimally.”
While transforming the economy, the state must do more to alleviate poverty, Ramaphosa said, both through integrated welfare programmes and improved social services.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to rolling out the National Health Insurance (NHI) and promised improvements to healthcare access and infrastructure.
But he did not mention a reported deal between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance — the two major parties in the government of national unity formed after last year’s elections — to ensure that private medical schemes remain in place once the NHI is implemented.
Ramaphosa said preparatory work for the NHI would continue this year, including developing a single electronic health record system, establishing ministerial advisory committees on health technologies and benefits, and an accreditation framework for healthcare service providers.
“The NHI will reduce inequalities in healthcare by ensuring everyone gets fair treatment,” he said.
He repeatedly returned to themes of fairness and equality.
“We stand for non-racialism and democracy, for tolerance and compassion. We stand for equal rights for women, for persons with disability and for members of the LGBTQI+ community.
“We stand for our shared humanity, not for the survival of the fittest.”