Month: February 2024

Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the Tintswalo story referred to by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday evening is an inspiration for many South Africans.

‘The Tintswalo story is a representation of all us,’ Minister Ntshavheni said.

This as the President in the SONA painted a picture of a child born in 1994, named ‘Tintswalo. He said Tintswalo grew up in a society that was worlds apart from the South Africa of her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.

‘The story of the first 30 years of our democracy can be best told through the life of a child called Tintswalo born at the dawn of freedom in 1994. She grew up in a society governed by a constitution rooted in equality, the rule of law, and affirmation of the inherent dignity of every citizen,’ said the President as he narrated her story.

He described her upbringing as being in a household provided with basic water and electricity, in a house where her parents were likely to have live
d without electricity before 1994.

Speaking to SAnews, Ntshavheni said Tintswalo is a representation of all those who are called the ‘Black Diamonds’ of their families.

‘Tintswalo is a representation of progress we have made as a country that a child from Makwarela can be a Minister, that a child from Tshifudi can be a lawyer, that a child from Dzingidzingi can be a nurse, that a child from an ordinary family can become a doctor,’ said the Minister.

The address delivered by the President was the last one for the sixth administration which saw the President being inaugurated on 25 May 2019.

In his address on Thursday, the President reflected on the progress made by the country as it marches to celebrate 30 years of freedom this year.

The SONA marks the official start of the Parliamentary programme. It will be followed by a debate in the National Assembly and the President’s reply to the debate.

Source: South African Government News Agency

As the moment grows closer for President Cyril Ramaphosa to deliver the State of the Nation Address this evening (SONA), guests have begun streaming in for the much anticipated event at the Cape Town City Hall.

Preparations are on track for the SONA which coincides with the opening of Parliament.

Speaking on the red carpet, Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, said: ‘[I am looking forward to] everything that the President will talk about, giving an account of the work that we committed to when he delivered last year’s SONA and what it is he’s going to bring for this financial year especially because we are in the last year of the [sixth] administration’.

For his part, Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi, said: ‘All I can say is, let’s allow the President to report on our behalf as the Executive. Only then will we able to elaborate as the different Executive Members on the statement of the President to the nation.’

Deputy Minister of Health Sibongiseni Dhlomo was mor
e pointed and said he hopes the President will ‘hint’ as to when the National Health Insurance Bill will be signed into law.

‘I can only be territorial and speak about what one would like to see on health. Last year, you had the National Health Insurance Bill going to the two Houses. In June last year, it was passed in the National Assembly and in December it was passed in the [National Council of Provinces].

‘That Bill is now at the desk of the President and the excitement is that the President will hint, not give us a day, that he will be signing this Bill into law,’ Dhlomo said.

A very special guest at this evening’s proceedings is praise singer or imbongi, Senziwe Hatty Maliba, also known as Nkosatane Nziwe.

The 24-year-old is tasked with ushering in the President as he enters the chambers to deliver the address.

‘I am excited. It is a great honour to be here and it is a great platform as well. I have been preparing ever since they told me that I have been chosen to usher in the President with a poem
. The poem is about everything…society,’ she said.

The President is expected to deliver his address from 7pm.

Source: South African Government News Agency

President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured South Africans that government will extend and improve the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant as the next step towards income support for the unemployed.

Delivering the last State of the Nation Address (SONA) for the sixth administration at the Cape Town City Hall, the President said government introduced the special grant during the pandemic, which currently reaches some 9 million unemployed people every month.

‘We have seen the benefits of this grant and will extend it and improve it as the next step towards income support for the unemployed.

‘These grants and subsidies do much more than give people what they need to live. They are an investment in the future.

‘Social assistance has been shown to increase school enrolment and attendance, lower drop-out rates, and improve the pass rate,’ the President said.

Prioritising ECDs and early grade reading initiatives

Turning to basic education, President Ramaphosa said that government will over the next five years
prioritise expanding access to early childhood development and enhancing early grade reading initiatives.

The President highlighted that significant progress is already underway with improving early grade reading demonstrating the administration’s commitment to this area.

Last year, the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) showed that 81% of Grade 4 pupils in South Africa can’t read for meaning.

‘Over the next five years, we will focus our attention on expanding access to early childhood development and improving early grade reading, where we are already beginning to see progress.

‘Moving early childhood development to the Department of Basic Education was one of the most important decisions as we were now able to devote more resources to early childhood development and ensure that through cooperative governance, various departments of government get involved in early childhood development augmented by the Department of Basic education,’ the President said.

President Ramaphosa
reflected that one of the worst injustices of apartheid was the manner in which education was used as a tool to perpetuate inequality.

Over the last 30 years, he said, the democratic government has sought to use education as a tool to create equality.

‘Our basic education outcomes are steadily improving across a range of measures. The latest matric pass rate, at 82.9%, is the highest ever. And with each new year, learners from no-fee schools are accounting for more and more of the bachelor passes achieved. At the same time, fewer learners are dropping out of school.

‘We have increased funding for poor and working-class students in universities and TVET significantly over the past five years,’ he said.

Tackling poverty

Regarding efforts to tackle poverty, President Ramaphosa said government’s policies and programmes have, over the course of 30 years, lifted millions of people out of dire poverty.

‘Today, fewer South Africans go hungry and fewer live in poverty. In 1993, South Africa faced a significant p
overty challenge, with 71.1 percent of its population living in poverty.

‘However, under the democratic government, there has been a consistent decline in these numbers. By 2010, the poverty rate had dropped to 60.9 percent, and it continued to decrease, reaching 55.5 percent in 2020, as reported by the World Bank. This progress has been made possible by extensive support to those in society who need it most,’ he said.

Five years ago, government introduced a further measure to tackle poverty by introducing the National Minimum Wage as envisaged in the Freedom Charter.

President Ramaphosa said the decision by key role players, being business and labour and communities, to introduce the minimum wage immediately raised the wages of over 6 million workers.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Department of Transport has encouraged the public to participate in its annual travel survey on the accessibility of all transport systems to people with disabilities, elderly people, women and children.

‘Parents of children are encouraged to complete the survey on behalf of their child, and assistants to persons with disabilities are also encouraged to do so, with the person with a disability who they assist,’ the department said on Thursday.

The purpose of the travel survey is to benchmark progress in rolling out the White Paper on National Transport Policy 2021, which indicates that all forms of transport must be universally accessible.

‘We invite anyone who receives this Survey who does not fall into the above categories, to please pass the link onto those who do. The link is: https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/xum3p8pV

‘This travel survey is run in partnership with the information and communications technology (ICT) ICT Subcommittee on Universally Accessible Transport, which meets with the Department o
f Transport quarterly,’ the department said.

This year’s results will be shared with the Presidential Working Group for Persons with Disabilities. The President has endorsed a drive to speed up the process to make transport accessible to all.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Government has strengthened the ranks of the South African Police Service (SAPS) through the recruitment of 20 000 police officers over the last two years, and another 10 000 in the year to come.

This as part of the country’s achievements highlighted by President Cyril Ramaphosa, delivering his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday evening, in a year the country marks 30 years of democracy.

President Ramaphosa was firm that South Africans deserve to be safe and to feel safe, to walk freely and without fear in their neighbourhoods and public spaces.

The President highlighted that during this administration, government has focused on equipping the law enforcement agencies, which had been systematically weakened, to do their work effectively.

‘An extra 5 000 police officers have been deployed to Public Order Policing. The SAPS has launched Operation Shanela as a new approach to target crime hotspots, which resulted in over 285 000 arrests since May last year.

‘The Economic Infrastructure Task Teams
that are operational in all provinces have had important successes in combatting cable theft, damage to critical infrastructure and illegal mining,’ the President said.

Through close collaboration with the private sector, South Africa has seen a reduction in security incidents on the rail network.

‘We launched the new Border Management Authority last year to improve the security of our borders and have already stopped over 100 000 people who tried to enter our country illegally.

‘Together with civil society, we developed the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence, as a society wide response to this pandemic. Around R21 billion was dedicated over the medium term to the implementation of the six pillars of the plan, including the economic empowerment of women.’

The President also noted other achievements, including the introduction of new laws to strengthen the response of the criminal justice system to gender-based violence, as well as the provision of better support to survivors of such violence
.

He emphasised that the government’s ultimate goal is to end gender-based violence altogether by mobilising all of society.

‘As part of this, we support the call for a pledge that men in South Africa are invited to take to demonstrate their personal commitment to ending this scourge. Women are also in the process of developing their own pledge.

‘We still have a long way to go to build safer communities, prevent violent crime, and protect our infrastructure. But there is no doubt that a professional, well-trained, and properly resourced police force, working closely with communities, will make our country a safer place,’ the President said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Reducing unemployment and tackling crime are some of the items on the wish list of Capetonians that they hope President Cyril Ramaphosa will speak to when he delivers the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

‘I want to know what government has in store for us this year. I want to know what we going to get from government,’ Nokuthula Swartbooi said.

Speaking to SAnews, Swartbooi said she wants government to provide people with employment, houses and to build more schools.

‘Government must create more jobs so we could provide for our children,’ she said.

This as President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to deliver the SONA, which will be the last one for the sixth administration, at 7pm on Thursday.

SONA is a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament – the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces – and is called by the President in terms of Section 42(5) of the Constitution

This year’s address is of special significance as the country will celebrate 30 years of freedom.

The State of the Nation A
ddress sets out government’s key policy objectives and deliverables for the year ahead and government has called on South Africans to familiarise themselves with the content of SONA so everyone can contribute to the country’s growth and development.

During the address, the President will highlight achievements, flag challenges and outline interventions to unlock development.

Meanwhile, Calvin Mentjies said government must create more jobs as this will reduce crime.

‘People are stealing because they are not employed We need government to intervene,’ he said.

Malon Oosthuizen wants the President to increase grants saying the cost of living was too high.

‘We want government to increase pension grants as things are too expensive now, we can’t afford to get the things we need for our daily living,’ he said.

Oosthuizen says government must also tackle corruption and crime.

‘People are getting robbed and killed daily by these ruthless criminals. Government must also arrest all those who are stealing from gove
rnment and committing fraud because is the innocent people who suffers,’ he said.

In preparation of SONA, road closures in the central business district will be in effect to assist with traffic flow and to accommodate the State of the Nation Address at the City Hall. The closures will affect the normal flow of traffic in and around the City Bowl.

In his address, President Ramaphosa will speak to political, economic and social issues and the general state of South Africa as well as its relations in Africa and abroad.

Source: South African Government News Agency