For the first time in several years, electricity did not dominate the president’s address
The Lanseria smart city remains a dream and hunger, unemployment and crime continue to be high but there has been progress in Eskom’s turnaround
The president said senior officials in municipalities would be appointed through an independent process free from political interference
The focus is on manufacturing green products for global markets and modernising the country’s power system, the president says
The president said the South African National Defence Force would be deployed to support police in tackling gang violence and illegal mining
The president said the army would be deployed to tackle illegal mining and gang violence and pledged urgent action against organised crime
Party leader Julius Malema said the move signalled the president’s loss of confidence in the police
In a pointed message to powerful nations, the president declared that South Africa’s sovereignty was “sacrosanct” and would not be compromised
The president announced a mass vaccination drive of the country’s entire cattle herd as the government moves to limit economic damage, export bans and further losses to farmers
The government is moving to establish a national water crisis committee, intervene in failing municipalities and hold municipal managers criminally accountable for persistent water outages