Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa has made bold promises to take the country forward within the next five years.
The plans Ramaphosa outlined tackled some of the severe challenges hobbling the country, such as poverty, inequality and unemployment.
“No person in South Africa will go hungry, our economy will grow at a much faster rate than our population and two million more young people will be in employment,” Ramaphosa said.
Delivering his third State if the Nation Address on Thursday evening, Ramaphosa said that government is creating these goals so that the decisions they make are bolder and they act with greater urgency.
Ramaphosa spoke at great length about the capacity of the country's hospitals and clinics and promised a comprehensive strategy to tackle shortcomings.
“An 80-year-old grandmother cannot spend an entire day in a queue waiting for her medication. An ill patient cannot be turned away because there is a shortage of doctors and nurses. A woman in labour cannot have her unborn child’s life put in danger because the ambulance has taken too long to come.
"As part of the work we must urgently do to improve the quality of the health system,” he said
Ramaphosa also said that they remain concerned about the HIV pandemic in the country, “We remain concerned about rising HIV infections rates, particularly among young women, and the relatively low numbers of men testing for HIV and starting treatment,” Ramaphosa said.
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