The mixed reactions to President's Cyril Ramaphosa’s opening of Parliament speech have seeded a test into his Government of National Unity (GNU) that includes the ANC, DA and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) among seven other political parties.
Ramaphosa addressed Parliament at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday.
Central to his speech was job creation over the next five years.
He called on South Africans to be a “cooperative nation” and to behave like weaver birds.
He said this new government presented the opportunity to make South Africa a better nation, and South Africans should stand together with greater readiness and determination.
While his counterpart, DA leader John Steenhuisen expressed optimism that members of the GNU would negotiate and find each other on the divisive National Health Insurance, opposition parties, including the official opposition, uMkhonto weSizwe Party and the EFF, suggested that the GNU would not survive the next five years.
The red berets, the MKP and the United Africans Transformation (ATM) have formed what they call a “progressive caucus”, which are planning to have Ramaphosa removed as president on the basis of the findings of the Phala Phala panel, headed by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo.
The report, which was later dismissed in a vote by previous MPs, had found that Ramaphosa had a case to answer on his Phala Phala scandal that rocked the country after a sum of foreign currency was stolen from the farm in February 2020.
Reacting to Ramaphosa’s speech, Steenhuisen said there is no consensus yet on the implementation of the NHI, but the parties would continue to negotiate.
“I do not think that any party to the GNU does not believe that we need to have universal access to basic healthcare for every South African regardless of their economic status. The differences of opinion is the best way to achieve this, how to fund it and whether you need to remove the choice for citizens around the private healthcare sector as well,” Steenhuisen, who is now Minister of Agriculture, said to journalists.
“I think that we can find each other. I think there is a commitment by the president, both in the Cabinet lekgotla and again tonight, that we will consult each other, we will consult industry players to try and find a way in which we can achieve the goal that we all want – universal access to basic healthcare for all South Africans regardless of their economic status.”
MKP leader in Parliament, Dr John Hlophe, was scathing responding to Ramaphosa’s speech.
He said: “President Cyril Ramaphosa is a sophisticated liar, who can lie with a straight face. He knows no bounds when it comes to lying.”
EFF leader Julius Malema said he was not impressed with Ramaphosa’s speech and described it as a waste of state resources and useless. Speaking to the SABC after the opening, Malema said Ramaphosa’s speech was underwhelming as it failed to reveal anything new.
“It’s very clear that the president has got no plan to transform South Africa for the better. He said nothing about inter-national relations because that is a point of disagreement to the Government of National Unity (GNU). There was nothing about the judiciary, nothing about the land. He can’t concretely say, this is the amount of hectares we are going to give to our people.
“He said a pure lie that he created 2 million jobs which we have never seen as the people of South Africa… He speaks to us on the same useless things… he’s non-committal,” Malema told the broadcaster.
Saturday Star