Political analysts have criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address (Sona), arguing that it was similar to his previous address, in which promises were left unfulfilled.
On Thursday, Ramaphosa delivered the 2025 State of the Sona at the Cape Town City Hall.
Independent political analyst Dr Metji Makgoba said Ramaphosa’s speech was full of good promises, indicating the country has been sleeping on its full potential.
“The president is making promises that the country needs to develop. The speech suggests he understands what is necessary to lift people from poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The main problem is that the country’s progress depends on private investment.
"The key priority of building state capacity and professionalizing the public sector could resolve many problems, but South Africa faces issues such as patronage, corruption, and white domination.
“He promises to take us to the promised land, but we are unlikely to reach it because South Africa is dealing with wicked problems that require the state to restructure the economy. You cannot resolve unemployment, inequality, and poverty merely by redistributing resources,
“Another issue is that Ramaphosa presents a socialist speech in a capitalist society. He speaks about the state's central role in developing communities and working with the people, but the investor does not allow that. Investment is all about over-accumulation, which ensures that big corporations will continue to consume public resources while people remain in poverty,” he said.
Reflecting on the Freedom Charter, Ramaphosa said this year’s Sona coincided with the 70th anniversary - describing it as the “cornerstone of our democratic Constitution,” emphasising its vision of a united, non-racial, non-sexist, and prosperous South Africa.
However, political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said, “Ramaphosa’s reference to the Freedom Charter shows how out of touch he has become,” adding that the ANC, a party Ramaphosa leads, weakened the reference to the country's land and wealth.
“The Freedom Charter speaks to the ANC's glaring failure in the last 30 years to bring a better life for all…
“The Freedom Charter says that the "national wealth of our country, the heritage of South Africans, shall be restored to the people; The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole, but the country is nowhere nearer to anything that resembles what is in the Freedom Charter. If anything, Ramaphosa's presidency has presided in the reversal of the gains made since 1994.”
Seepe felt the Sona repeated past promises characterised by advisory committees but fewer solutions.
IOL Politics