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In 2024, the single greatest threat to South Africa's democracy, freedom, and to the South African dream, is the African National Congress (ANC).

So said Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen in the debate on the President's State of the Nation Address (SoNA), on Tuesday.

President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his eighth SoNA last week, in which he told the story of Tintswalo, a child of democracy, born in 1994, and meant to represent someone who had reaped the benefits of freedom, under the ANC government.

In his SoNA debate speech, Steenhuisen took up Ramaphosa's analogy, drawing out the rest of Tintswalo's hypothetical life under ANC rule.

He said while her childhood may have begun with hope and a promise for a better life, as an adult, Tintswalo had felt the effects of corruption over many years, as well as crime and poverty, dashing her hopes for a better life.

"She lost her livelihood, her home, and her father. Her South African dream lay in ruins. Tintswalo is done waiting for the ANC to change. She has accepted that it never will. She acknowledges the opportunities she got as a young person, which her parents never had. But she now thinks about the future of her own family above all else. You see, Mr President, like millions of other South Africans, Tintswalo cannot afford to live in the past. She must survive in the reality of what South Africa is in 2024, not in the memory of what South Africa was in 1994. For here is the hard truth, Mr President, whether you like it or not: you have betrayed Tintswalo's South African dream," Steenhuisen said.

Using other stories, he went on to lay out other scenarios of hardship that other South Africans might be facing, such as gang violence, unemployment, a lack of energy and water, hunger, a crumbling port system and vital skills fleeing the country for better opportunities.

Steenhuisen continued his election-focussed speech by stating that the ANC must be removed from power.

"When the ANC says that 2024 is the year we must defend our freedom, they are right. We must defend our freedom - from the ANC," he said.

He called out Ramaphosa for allegedly protecting his deputy, Paul Mashatile, who has been accused of corruption and said such a President was an existential threat to freedom.

Steenhuisen stressed the importance of voting in the upcoming elections and had a clear message for Ramaphosa.

"Mr President, you recently made the baseless and dangerous claim that mysterious foreign agents want to bring about "regime change" in South Africa. Let me assure you: what is coming your way in this election, is not regime change by foreigners. It is democratic change, by the people of South Africa. Voting out a failed governing party is not a threat to democracy. It is the ultimate vindication of democracy. And it is the only way to rescue our South African dream," Steenhuisen said.

The DA leader pointed out his party's 'blueprint to rescue South Africa', which was recently announced and promised comprehensive legislative reforms.

He presented the DA as the alternative to the ANC, particularly in light of the recent Constitutional Court ruling which required the ANC to hand over the records of its cadre deployment committee to the DA within five days.

The DA is hoping to use the records to show that the committee set the foundation for State capture and is the reason for a collapse of service delivery.

Steenhuisen said he expected the ANC to abide by the court ruling and also claimed that Ramaphosa would also be implicated in State capture, once the records were handed over.

"After all the damage and destruction wrought during the 15 wasted years under [former President Jacob] Zuma and Ramaphosa, the 2024 election is sadly not yet about truly fulfilling the dream of 1994. Instead, this election is about keeping the dream alive," the DA leader said.

He warned of a dead dream for South Africa if the ANC clung to power, particularly through a coalition with the Economic Freedom Fi...

The South African government on Tuesday made an urgent request to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to consider whether Israel's decision to extend its military operations in Rafah requires the court to use its power to prevent further imminent breach of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza.

Last month, in a case brought by South Africa, the ICJ ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

In a request submitted to the court on Monday, the South African government said it was "gravely concerned" that the unprecedented military offensive against Rafah had already led to, and will result in, further large-scale killing, harm and destruction.

The Presidency said this would be in serious and irreparable breach of the Genocide Convention and of the court's January Order.

South Africa expressed the urgency of its request to the court in light of the daily death toll in Gaza.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday formally laid criminal charges against Deputy President Paul Mashatile, after allegations of corruption, spanning almost two decades, were levelled against him.

It has been reported that Mashatile's son-in-law Nceba Nonkwelo purchased a R28.9-million home in Constantia, Cape Town, last year through one of his companies, Bilcosat.

Between March and May 2023, Nonkwelo, through his business entities, funded the purchase of properties allegedly for Mashatile's benefit, worth R65.9-million.

DA leader John Steenhuisen said the integrity of the South African government was laughable when the country's second in command had such a large cloud of dire corruption allegations hanging over his head.

"President [Cyril] Ramaphosa can no longer bury his head in the sand and hope it will somehow blow over. There now exists more than sufficient evidence to suggest that Paul Mashatile is, and has been, involved in egregious corruption during his tenure of various executive positions over the past two decades, and it is now time for him to face the consequences," said Steenhuisen.

He said as South Africa approached a "'hinge of history' election later this year", citizens could not allow the African National Congress (ANC) government to deflect from the fact that most State failure and every service collapse could be directly traced to State capture and severe corruption that had become endemic under the ANC.

Steenhuisen said the DA had also submitted a formal complaint against Mashatile to Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests for a breach of the Members' Code of Conduct, for failure to disclose registrable interests, or for wilfully or grossly negligently providing the Registrar with incorrect or misleading details.

"Mashatile also faces allegations for having misled Parliament by failing to properly declare his use of various properties, including a R37-million Waterfall house in Gauteng. In addition to this, Mashatile also breached the Code of Conduct by failing to act in all respects in a manner that is consistent with the integrity of their office or the government," he said.

Given that the appointment of the Deputy President was made solely at the discretion of the President, last week the DA submitted a dossier of allegations levelled against Mashatile to the Union Buildings for the attention of Ramaphosa.

The DA gave Ramaphosa a week to act against Mashatile, urging him to use the 2024 State of the Nation Address (SoNA) to declare the removal of Mashatile from his executive, and to submit him for a full Special Investigating Unit investigation.

However, Steenhuisen said it came as no surprise that Ramaphosa had done nothing to act against the "corrupt cadres within his government" and within his own party.

Steenhuisen pointed out that had Ramaphosa instituted lifestyle audits for his Cabinet ministers, as promised in his first SoNA, all allegations levelled against Mashatile would have come to light for the requisite action to be taken.

FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS

Meanwhile, Steenhuisen said the work of journalists should not be ignored, explaining that in addition to laying criminal charges against Mashatile the DA was seeking an appointment with the Hawks, which were already involved in an investigation with other several matters related to Mashatile.

The DA will seek to supplement the Hawks' case with matters outlined in the charge sheet.

"We believe that it is in the interest of South Africa for President Cyril Ramaphosa to break his silence about his deputy. He cannot continue to act as if nothing is wrong and everything is all right. This is a huge scandal that is enveloping the Presidency. You cannot stand before the nation at the State of the Nation Address and talk about combating corruption and getting at the bottom of graft and eliminating State capture in the country, when the very person occupying the office across from you at the Union Buildings has himself got t...

President Cyril Ramaphosa stated on Monday that with South Africa becoming an "increasingly attractive destination" for business process outsourcing and customer experience, attracting more skilled workers will be important.

Last week, the Department of Home Affairs published for public comment draft amendments to existing immigration regulations that aim to significantly boost efforts to attract workers with critical skills to South Africa.

The draft amendments deal with two visa categories: a remote working visa and the critical skills visa.

Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the nation that in line with the country's ongoing efforts to attract higher levels of investment and promote job creation, the new work visa regulations were a milestone.

He said that the visa regulations were part of high-impact structural reforms government was undertaking to improve the business operating environment.

Ramaphosa explained that the introduction of a remote working visa responded to the rapidly evolving world of work, where increasing numbers of skilled workers, particularly those in the tech industry, were attracted by the lifestyle benefits of working from a remote location.

It also caters to so-called digital nomads, who are able to work virtually from any location in the world, he explained.

He added that a remote worker who wanted to work in South Africa while being employed by a foreign company would be able to receive such a visa.

"The draft regulations propose the introduction of a points system for critical skills visas that will take into account factors such as age, qualifications, language skills, work experience and having an offer of employment, amongst others," he said.

Ramaphosa noted that the publication of the new draft regulations were part of government's ongoing drive to reform the country's visa system, making it easier to attract the skills the country's economy needed and to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.

An efficient, agile, responsive visa regime was key to attracting business investment and boosting economic growth, Ramaphosa said.

He highlighted that to succeed in an ever-changing global economy, the country needed far more people with the right skills.

"This is so that our economy can be competitive, grow and create employment. As a country, we have invested much in producing these skills, from significantly expanding access to higher education, introducing digital programmes in technical and vocational education and training colleges and a shift to a new pay-for-performance approach to skills development," he said.

However, Ramaphosa explained that it would take some time before government could produce enough skilled people to enable the country to grow rapidly.

A review report published last year found that South Africa's available labour supply "does not match demand from companies which are essentially looking to employ management-level personnel, professionals, engineers, technicians, science and maths educators, as well as Information technology experts".

"This means that, at least in the short term, many of these high-level skills must be sourced internationally," Ramaphosa said.

The African National Congress (ANC) has five days to hand over all records relating to its cadre deployment committee to the Democratic Alliance (DA), following a Constitutional Court (ConCourt) judgment handed down on Monday.

All records, going back to January 2013, encompass meeting minutes, CVs, emails, Whatsapp messages and other relevant documents.

The ANC lost its appeal in the ConCourt, cases in the Gauteng High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The DA called the ConCourt judgment "one of the great victories in South African legal and democratic history", adding that cadre deployment was not a victimless crime.

With the records, the DA aims to show how the ANC interfered in public appointments and blocked the appointment of skilled applicants, in favour of deploying ANC cadres.

"The case is also of historic significance in the ongoing battle against State capture. The records are set to reveal, once and for all, that President Cyril Ramaphosa was personally involved in the State capture project in his capacity as cadre deployment chairman. The State Capture Commission has already confirmed that the ANC deployment committee was a key cog in the machine that corrupted and collapsed the public sector, because it was this committee that illegally intervened to ensure the appointment of the people who captured the State. Thanks to this ruling, the people of South African will finally get the opportunity to see the full scale of the ANC's complicity in State capture," the DA stated.

Meanwhile, the DA also has a case in the Gauteng High Court to have cadre deployment declared unconstitutional and unlawful.

It said the ConCourt judgment was in this instance a victory for the DA, which has argued that the ANC's deployment committee actively influences sector appointments, unlawfully.

"We believe the Constitutional Court's ruling is important in that context, because it confirms that the actions of the ANC cadre deployment committee directly affect the public," it said.

ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the party would study the judgment to ensure it is adhered to.

"The ANC has noted the judgement of the Constitutional Court on cadre deployment which is a practice not exclusive to the ANC both in South Africa and abroad," she said.

The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) research and policy programme Jan Hofmeyer noted on Friday that regardless of impediments experienced, South Africa has come a long way, moving from an era of pessimism, division, limited opportunities, turmoil and conflict, to a new era of hope, reconciliation and nation building.

Hofmeyer was speaking during IJR's webinar on national politics and South Africa's role as global peacemaker: the dynamics of the 2024 elections, where he unpacked President Cyril Ramaphosa's Thursday night State of the Nation Address (SoNA).

Hofmeyer pointed out that 2024 is an important year as South Africa celebrates thirty years of democracy and as voters head to the polls later this year.

He noted that in his SoNA, Ramaphosa used the story of Tintswalo, South Africa's child of democracy, to describe some of the interventions that government has made over thirty years, since the end of Apartheid.

Hofmeyer said Ramaphosa is right in that people now have the freedom to express their rights and to make their own choices.

However, he noted that Ramaphosa had made factual errors in his speech, around the country's developmental statistics.

Ramaphosa highlighted that by 2010, the poverty rate had dropped to 60.9%, and it continued to decrease, reaching 55.5% in 2020, as reported by the World Bank.

"Unfortunately there are no funds at the moment to replicate these statics to where we are now, but we know we have had an economic slowdown, Covid-19 in between, mostly that figure is much higher than 55%," Hofmeyer said.

He said, in fact, the World Bank, which Ramaphosa quoted, estimated 62%. He said South Africa is where it was in 2009.

Meanwhile, he noted that there was still conflict between government and business and now social compact. "

He said it was quite ironically for Ramaphosa to say that he noted how South Africans stood up against State capture and how it was overcome.

"…And how our society has been resilient. For me it was somehow ironic because if your measure of progress has been how you are able to push back on a process that was started by own party, I think that does not signify progress," Hofmeyer said.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Friday that its manifesto launch, ahead of the 2024 national elections, would not be symbolic, but that it would be a "genuine statement of intent".

The party will launch its manifesto in Pretoria on Saturday and will see DA supporters march to the Union Buildings, where DA leader John Steenhuisen will address the crowd.

Following a lukewarm response to President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on Thursday night, the DA said its manifesto would not be a set of empty promises, but rather a "well-researched", "data-driven" document that zeros in on ways to cut wasteful expenditure, open the electricity sector to private enterprise for stable supply, invest in education and create an environment for economic growth.

The party believes its manifesto launch will be the biggest in South Africa's political history and hopes to use its vision to "rescue South Africa".

"In the last five years, we have witnessed the decay and decline of South Africa. President Ramaphosa's promises, particularly on ending loadshedding, have proven to be nothing but empty rhetoric. The numbers paint a grim picture - rising poverty, swelling unemployment queues, and corruption reaching unprecedented levels. 'Tintswalo', the child of democracy, is not living the dream promised by the ANC. The hope of a 'New Dawn' has faded into a dusk of despair. Our children are starving, crime is rampant, and our health system is crumbling," the party said.

It said the upcoming election would be a reset for South Africa.

The DA said its manifesto was created on a foundation of new research and new economic thinking for practical and workable solutions to solve the country's challenges.

The DA said its Multi-Party Charter with fellow political cohorts was the government in waiting.

"As President Ramaphosa delivered his last SoNA, we bid farewell to an era of stagnation. It's time for a new government, a government led by the Democratic Alliance, a government that will put the people first. The DA's manifesto launch is not just an event, it's a historic moment, a rallying cry for change," the party said.

Political parties and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa's 2024 State of the Nation Address (SoNA), saying it is fraught with big promises that show no sign of learning from past mistakes or changing course.

Ramaphosa delivered his eighth SoNA on Thursday evening at the Cape Town City Hall.

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen said Ramaphosa had not kept any of his promises made in his previous SoNAs and that he had not tabled any pragmatic, workable legislation to realise his 'New Dawn'.

Steenhuisen stated that the South African economy had all but flatlined, with no new jobs, worsened corruption and crime, and millions of starving children.

He noted that 30 years of African National Congress (ANC) national government had caused the country's economy to stagnate and had led to significant fiscal restraint - "an environment in which the ANC is now pursuing desperate and populist measures such as tapping into the Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account of the Reserve Bank, essentially killing any economic buffer for the country against unforeseen external market shocks," he stated.

Steenhuisen said a looming tax hike under the ANC would be the final nail in the coffin for millions of South African households struggling to put food on the table.

He said South Africa needed a complete reprioritisation of its national Budget that cut away Cabinet perks and a bloated public wage bill, and that redirected money towards paying better social grants that met the food poverty line, fixed the electricity crisis by embracing privatisation, invested in education, and embraced policies that liberated the economy to fast-track growth and job creation.

NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE

In his speech, Ramaphosa noted that government was planning to incrementally implement the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI), the Bill for which awaits his signature.

The DA said that by embracing the NHI Bill, Ramaphosa was taking a wrecking ball to the country's public health system, driving skilled doctors and medical personnel from the country, and killing South Africa's status as a world leader in healthcare innovation.

He said the NHI could be pushed through Parliament when government could afford to employ and place the country's existing graduate doctors.

"Furthermore, we cannot embrace NHI when the ANC cannot even feed our children. According to the Eastern Cape Department of Health, 1 722 children under the age of five in the province were newly diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition between August 2022 and September 2023. Of these, 114 have died," said Steenhuisen.

Civil rights interest group AfriForum highlighted that Ramaphosa's "search for a pen" to sign the impugned NHI Bill was a shameful attempt to use the false promise of better health care to win a few votes.

Solidarity said it considered the promise of "free healthcare" to be another empty promise but one with very serious consequences.

"It is clear that the government, regardless of their hopeless track record, is appropriating even more power for itself. This is taking place while South Africans actually need the federal devolution of power to communities," it said.

STATE CAPTURE, CORRUPTION AND CRIME

ActionSA president Herman Mashaba said the SoNA was a "political sleight of hand", where Ramaphosa appropriated the progress of the ruling party made under Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki while distancing himself from its failures and corruption during President Jacob Zuma's State Capture era.

He said South Africans struggling with unemployment, rampant crime, and continuous rolling blackouts "know the truth that belies this rhetoric".

"The reality outside the Ramaverse is that the President's superficial, low-impact interventions have done little to demonstrate real accountability for corruption, address rolling blackouts, improve educational outcomes, or grow our job-killing economy," said Mashaba.

He ...

Ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address (SoNA), this evening, the African National Congress (ANC) assured that it remains steadfast in its resolve to overcome challenges facing the country and to continue steering South Africa toward prosperity.

Ramaphosa will deliver his eighth SoNA with many expectations from citizens, political parties and business. The ANC said Ramaphosa would be delivering the address amidst progress and challenges.

"This year's State of the Nation Address is expected to reflect on the gains we have made as a nation as well as affirm our determination to defend our democracy from opportunistic elements that are set on undermining the unstoppable programme of transformation. The address must be a beacon of hope as it accounts on commitments made whilst pointing us all in the direction that must now be taken to transform South Africa in the interest of a better life for all," said the ANC.

NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE BILL

The ANC also asserted its commitment to bring the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) to fruition.

It said it "strongly" supports the NHI Bill as a vital step towards achieving universal healthcare coverage.

The Bill was processed by the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces last year and sent to the President to be signed into law.

The NHI Bill was met with criticism, however, with business groups pushing Ramaphosa to delay signing it into law, saying that it did not pass constitutional muster and would likely lead to many legal and social troubles down the line.

In an open statement to Ramaphosa, Business Unity South Africa and Businesses for South Africa petitioned the President to first test the constitutionality of the NHI Bill before signing it into law.

However, the ANC believes that by pooling resources and addressing disparities, the NHl will improve health outcomes nationwide.

Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya noted that Ramaphosa was still considering the NHI Bill and that the President's legal advisers were looking at the proposed legislation.

SOUTH AFRICAN SUCCESS

Meanwhile, the ANC said that it also celebrated the country's achievements on the global stage, from "asserting moral leadership" to showcasing the talents of South Africans in sports and in music.

"Despite global shocks like the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical unrest, South Africa's resilience shines through, propelling us on an upward trajectory despite economic setbacks. This year's State of the Nation marks the culmination of an extraordinary term of office characterised by several severe global shocks, as well as the rise of South Africa's prominence as an international moral authority on the global stage," the ANC said.

The party noted that the sixth administration faced the daunting task of reinvigorating and fortifying the State, which It said had been weakened by corruption and counter-revolutionary elements.

Through concerted efforts, the ANC said significant progress has been made in combating corruption and rebuilding State institutions.

The party said that the ANC-led government had dramatically improved access to education from early childhood right through to post-school education.

Nearly every young person aged 15 to 24 years of age is literate, and adult literacy now stands at 85%, up from only 64% in 1996.

"Today we have a growing black and skilled professional sector. Many interventions have been introduced, including school fee exemption, the school nutrition programme and scholar transport which ensures that poverty does not stand in the way of children's access to quality education. It is this administration that has seen the highest percentage of people writing matric and passing matric, a testament to the ANC's commitment to education for all," the party pointed out.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his last state-of-the-nation address before the country holds national elections that are gearing up to be the most hotly contested since apartheid ended three decades ago.

The president will likely take stock of the work his administration has done, leaving the announcement of new initiatives to another keynote speech that will be delivered after the vote. The address to lawmakers on Thursday evening in Cape Town comes two weeks before his party presents its manifesto to voters.

Here are the key things to watch out for:

1. The Election Date

Ramaphosa proclaimed the date for the 2019 elections in a state-of-the-nation address and may do likewise this week - on Wednesday his spokesman said an announcement will be made within 15 days. Once that happens, the date will be published in the Government Gazette and the voters' roll will close. The vote must take place by August and several opinion polls show the ruling African National Congress risks losing its national majority for the first time since it took power under Nelson Mandela in 1994.

2. Income Grants

There's been a tug of war within the government over whether a temporary 350 rand ($18.50) monthly stipend that was introduced to cushion the unemployed against the fallout from the coronavirus should be made permanent. The National Treasury has called for a comprehensive review of the entire welfare system and warned that the income grants are unsustainable unless new sources of revenue are found. But the African National Congress (ANC) insists that an extension to the stipends is non-negotiable and Ramaphosa told a party meeting last month that there is "a strong case for a permanent form of a targeted income-support grant for the unemployed within our fiscal constraints." If he does pronounce on the matter, it will likely fall to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to spell out where the money will come from when he delivers his annual budget on February 21.

3. Energy and Rail Crises

Ramaphosa is likely to elaborate on what is being done to tackle power shortages and logistical snarl-ups that have hamstrung the economy, but isn't expected to unveil new overarching plans. The country endured record blackouts last year, some lasting as long as 12 hours a day, because state utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. couldn't keep pace with demand for electricity from its old and poorly maintained plants. While private investors have been enlisted to bring new capacity on line, the process has been a bumpy one. Transnet SOC Ltd., the struggling state-owned company that runs the freight rail network and all the main ports, has committed to implementing a turnaround plan to address complaints from mining companies and farmers that they can't get sufficient volumes of their goods to market. In December, the government agreed to provide the company with 47-billion rand in debt guarantees and

4. Health-Care Reform

Late last year, lawmakers signed off on the contentious National Health Insurance Bill, which seeks to facilitate the provision of universal access to health care through a centrally managed government fund that buys services and medicines from public and private providers. The legislation has been referred to the president, who can either assent to it, or ask the legislature to amend it if he deems it to be legally or technically flawed. While Ramaphosa is unlikely to announce that he has signed off, he may signal how close he is to a decision. Business groups and opposition parties say the law erodes the constitutional rights of both patients and health-care professionals and they intend challenging it in court if it is adopted in its current form.

5. Government Overhaul

The Treasury has been working with the presidency on a plan to restructure the cabinet, which has expanded since Ramaphosa took office in 2018 despite his repeated commitments to slim it down. The president may spell out what concrete action will be taken to re...