CAPE TOWN - Athol Trollip MP, ActionSA Parliamentary Leader, has reflected on the State of the Nation Address (SONA 2025) which took centre stage last evening (6 February).
MP Trollip wrote:
Yet again, President Cyril Ramaphosa has failed to seize the moment. His State of the Nation Address was nothing more than a rehash of empty promises — white papers, strategies, websites, new funding models, and grand plans or rather more plans about plans. Without any urgency or explanation as to why these so-called reforms have taken so long to implement.
The economy remains stagnant, and despite the usual rhetoric of “economic growth,” nothing substantial has been done to address the fundamental issues driving our decline. Instead of confronting the root causes -corruption and a bloated, inefficient civil service-Ramaphosa continues to peddle hollow commitments while state institutions crumble under the weight of mismanagement and graft.
The Auditor-General has repeatedly highlighted the deep-rooted corruption plaguing government, yet the plans announced tonight fail to provide any meaningful action to stop the rot.
Ramaphosa speaks of a “second wave of economic reforms”-but where was the first? Economic growth is practically non-existent, with GDP limping along at 0.3% and expanded unemployment stuck at 42% under the so-called Government of National Unity. This is not reform; it is a continuation of failure spun as a change.
Promises about industrial policy reform also ring hollow. These are the same promises we’ve heard for years. Yet, we’ve seen the closure of ArcelorMittal’s operations in Newcastle and Vereeniging, resulting in the loss of 3,500 jobs – a stark reminder of the deep-rooted flaws in South Africa’s industrial policy destroying South African industry.
The challenges cited by ArcelorMittal are not unique to the steel industry. Prolonged weak economic conditions, unreliable infrastructure, and escalating energy costs are common to many sectors, raising the question: which South African industry or business will fail next?
The so-called Transformation Fund is just another feeding trough for ANC cadres— effectively
ANC-EE on steroids. Instead of fixing failed BEE policies to be genuinely broad-based, the government is doubling down on the same failed model, ensuring that empowerment remains a tool for politically connected elites rather than the millions of South Africans who desperately need economic inclusion. ActionSA’s Opportunity fund is truly the only option for real transformation of our society and the restoration of the dignity of our people.
Ramaphosa has once again ignored the crisis in our criminal justice system, offering no reforms to fix its collapse. There are no plans to better equip or support our men and women in blue, no commitment to specialised crime-fighting units, and no action to deploy the army to safeguard key infrastructure from sabotage.
Meanwhile, 1,500 state capture perpetrators remain free despite R10 billion recovered, and not a single high-profile conviction has been secured for those who looted and crippled our country. This government’s failure to enforce justice is an insult to every South African who suffers under the weight of rising crime and corruption which has been made particulary acute given the recent allegations of the hollowing out of employee funds.
He identified that local government is incapable because of a lack of leadership and mismanagement, which has been caused by cadre deployment. As long as this is not fixed, local government will remain in shambles.
It’s regrettable that Ramaphosa mentioned nothing about porous borders and illegal immigrants, and the infiltration of Home Affairs by illegal immigrants who are accessing social services unavailable in their own countries, and this is unsustainable.
This SONA was yet another missed opportunity to show real leadership. South Africans deserve better than recycled promises and empty rhetoric. We need decisive action to tackle corruption, cut waste, and drive real economic reform —not another year of excuses.
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