State Of The Nation Address
latest news & developments
A focus on one faltering building block
The country presents a clear illustration of how a weak social foundation constrains industrial development and reinforces structural inefficiencies but we can change that
SANDF deployment to back police set to start on 31 March
National police commissioner Fannie Masemola said the army would play a supporting role to the South African Police Service
SA violent crime down, but still unacceptably high, Cachalia says
The acting police minister also stressed the need to tackle organised crime, which President Cyril Ramaphosa last week singled out as ‘the most immediate threat to our democracy,…
When young people hear Sona, we hear echo of promises
For many, Sona feels less like a turning point and more like a reminder of how far removed political speeches are from daily life
‘A state of nothingness address’
Even before his speech on Thursday, many opposition parties had already given the president a ‘fail’
The hits and misses under the GNU
A year after the president’s first State of the Nation address as the leader of a coalition government, performance has been good and bad
Taking stock of Ramaphosa’s promises
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
From transformation to sustained delivery
Perhaps the most tangible area of progress since SONA 2025 has been energy stabilisation. The marked reduction in the frequency and severity of load-shedding, including extended…
Sona 2026 leaves the creative sector behind
South Africa’s creative sector went into the State of the Nation address with a clear demand: recognition, reform and rescue. What it received was silence. Just days before…
SA’s sovereignty is ‘not negotiable’, Ramaphosa says in Sona
In a pointed message to powerful nations, the president declared that South Africa’s sovereignty was “sacrosanct” and would not be compromised
Ramaphosa declares foot-and-mouth outbreak a national disaster
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
Water crisis rivals crime as top concern for South Africans, Ramaphosa says
The government is moving to establish a national water crisis committee, intervene in failing municipalities and hold municipal managers criminally accountable for persistent…
We can’t leave our young ones behind
The most recent statistics show that more than 1. 15 million children (68,4%) aged 3 – 5 years are not in ECD centres
The Kenya they won’t tell you about
Across the country, prices remain stubbornly high … Electricity bills feel designed not for service delivery but for punishment
South Africa’s presidency confirms ‘regrettable’ expulsion of ambassador to US Ebrahim Rasool
The move, which marks a further deterioration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, was announced by US secretary of state Marco Rubio in a post on X late on Friday