In just a few hours, President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the State of the Nation Address (SONA) which will provide a country roadmap charting the way forward for the country in what one could call a mixed bag of domestic and global circumstances.
Thursday night will mark the first SONA to be delivered under the seventh administration’s Government of National Unity (GNU) following the outcomes of the historic 29 May 2024 elections.
And while the faces of government Ministers has changed with every administration, the SONA, held every year since the dawn of democratic South Africa in 1994, continues to hold strong and is a reflection of democracy in action, no matter who is in the driver’s seat of the sitting government of the day.
The State of the Nation Address (SONA) is an important fixture in the nation’s journey forward and provides the President with an opportunity to hold perhaps the year’s “biggest family meeting,” outlining the key plans and programmes of the year ahead. The address also affords the President the chance to look into the rearview mirror to assess the journey traversed to date.
As the President fine-tunes his notes before delivering the speech in an environment that changes by the second, government is cognisant that in every family unit, every member has a role to play in ensuring and preserving the family name and that it has to do so by ensuring the provision of services and responding to challenges facing the South African family.
This as government continues to respond to the challenges of poverty, inequality, unemployment and illegal mining among others.
“As much as we have made progress, we have to do much more to overcome the challenges that confront our nation. We need to work with urgency and purpose to grow an inclusive economy and create jobs,” the President said in his New Year’s Eve message to the nation in December 2024.
In that address, he called on the nation to look at the year 2025 with hope.
“As a people, our unity, determination and resilience has seen us through hard times. Just as this has been a year of great change, we look to the next year with great hope,” he said at the time.
And while our South African family is by no means perfect, there are valid reasons not to be glum about the future.
G20
At tomorrow night’s joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in Parliament, the President is expected to speak on the country’s hosting of the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in November, making the country the first do so on the African continent. This as the nation assumed the Presidency of the grouping on 1 December 2024 under the theme: “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability”.
Having taken over the baton from Brazil, South Africa's G20 Presidency is the fourth consecutive emerging market Presidency and follows the admission of the African Union (AU) as the second permanent African member.
The G20 was established to tackle pressing global economic and financial issues. Together, G20 members account for around 85% of global GDP and 75% of international trade. The hosting of the Summit is expected to help accelerate the performance of the economy.
The economy
President Ramaphosa is likely to also reflect on the performance of the economy in an environment where the rising cost of living has many on edge. However, the prospects of South Africa’s purse strings are predicted to improve with the country in 2024 having achieved its first primary budget surplus in 15 years.
A recent economic and financial assessment by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) showed that the country’s economic growth prospects are poised to recover in 2025 following a lacklustre economic performance for the past two years.
Last month, the fund published the findings of its Article IV Consultation with South Africa, which was held in November 2024.
According to the IMF, the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) output growth is expected to accelerate from an estimated 0.8 % in 2024 to 1.5 % in 2025 driven by improved electricity generation, monetary policy easing, and a return of investor and consumer confidence post the elections.
The IMF acknowledged progress in banking-resolution and safety-net reforms and praised macro-prudential measures to bolster capital buffers. However, it also raised concerns on the rising public debt and the challenges South Africa faces to meet climate goals.
The ongoing electricity and logistics reforms aimed at alleviating critical supply constraints were also welcomed. National Treasury noted that the fund’s concerns are aligned with government’s response to addressing immediate and long-term economic challenges.
“The National Treasury is committed to implementing reforms that will enhance inclusive economic growth, achieve a sustainable public debt level, further repair and strengthen network industries, and strengthen state capacity to support economic activity.”
In its 2024 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in October, Treasury estimated economic growth to increase from 1.1 % in 2024 to 1.7% in 2025.
It attributed the gains in the economy to household consumption gradually increasing, supported by rising purchasing power, employment recovery and wealth gains.
The current focus of South Africa’s reform agenda includes the stabilisation of the electricity grid, enhancing the efficacy of freight and ports operations, implementing e-Visas, as well as prioritising the advancement of targeted industries to enhance the business climate and promoting equitable growth.
Legislation
In the past year, government has passed laws that aim to improve lives as well as respond to pressing challenges.
In January this year, the President signed into law the Expropriation Bill, which sets out how organs of State may expropriate land in the public interest for varied reasons.
The new legislation repeals the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975, aligns expropriation processes with the Constitution and marks the culmination of a five-year process of public consultation and Parliamentary deliberation.
“The Bill assented to by President Ramaphosa outlines how expropriation can be done and on what basis. This law will assist all organs of State - local, provincial and national authorities - to expropriate land in the public interest for varied reasons,” the Presidency said.
Section 25 of the Constitution recognises expropriation as an essential mechanism for the state to acquire someone’s property for a public purpose or in the public interest, subject to just and equitable compensation being paid.
The law has drawn criticism from the United States of America with South Africa saying it looks “forward to engaging” with US President Donald Trump’s administration on bilateral relations and other issues.
The Presidency said the legislation is not a confiscation instrument.
“The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution.
“South Africa, like the United States of America and other countries, has always had expropriation laws that balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of rights of property owners."
Among other laws passed is the Employment Equity Amendment Act, which is aimed at reducing the regulatory burden for small employers to allow them to focus on job creation, which came into effect on 1 January 2025.
President Ramaphosa signed last year, the proclamation notice giving effect to the start date of implementation of the Employment Equity (EE) Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2022.
In terms of the notice gazetted on 28 November 2024, small businesses that employ less than 50 employees are no longer bound to comply with Chapter III of the Employment Equity Act, 1998 (EEA) - for example in relation to the submission of their EE reports starting from the 2025 EE Reporting period.
Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth said the regulatory flexibility will enable small businesses to now focus on growing their businesses and create jobs.
In addition, in December, the President announced his intention to sign a Presidential Proclamation that will bring the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act into operation, immediately.
The BELA Bill was passed by the 6th democratic Parliament on 26 October 2023 after which the first citizen assented to the Bill on 13 September 2024.
President Ramaphosa said the BELA Act is vital to the transformation of the country’s education system and is an important part of ongoing efforts to build an education system that is more effective and more equitable in line with the precepts of the Constitution.
The Act amends sections of the South African Schools Act of 1996 (SASA) and the Employment of Educators Act, 1998 (EEA) to account for developments in the education landscape since the enactment of the original legislation.
Community safety
In a move to ensure the safety of citizens, the South African Police Service (SAPS) trained and deployed over 20 000 new constables in various units across the country in the past three years.
In addition, operations like Operation Shanela continues to make strides since its inception in May 2023. Shanela consists of regular stop and searches, roadblocks, high visibility patrols and the tracing of wanted suspects.
Operation Vala Umgodi which is aimed at combating illegal mining also continues to make strides.
At the release of the Quarterly Crime Statistics in November 2024, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu announced that the SAPS had recorded a downward trend in some categories of crime, including murder, robbery and carjacking.
From 1 July to 30 September 2024, the 17 community-reported serious crimes showed an overall decline of 5.1%. Specifically, contact crime decreased by 3%, property-related crime saw a reduction of 9.9%, and other serious crime decreased by 3.4%.
“Focusing on contact crime, the statistics indicate that murder decreased by 5.8%, sexual offenses by 2.5%, and robbery with aggravating circumstances by 8.8%. Additionally, rape decreased by 3.1%, while robbery at residential premises and non-residential premises decreased by 1.3% and 21.1%, respectively,” he said at the time.
Load shedding
While the country suffered a bout of Stage 3 load shedding recently, November 2024 marked the longest stretch of no-load shedding in five years.
Eskom marked the longest stretch of uninterrupted power supply in five years, with load shedding suspended for more than 240 consecutive days at the time which was followed by 300 days of no-load shedding on 21 January 2025.
The power utility’s performance has been on a steady upward trajectory since the implementation of the Energy Action Plan introduced by President Ramaphosa in July 2022, as well as the implementation of the power utility’s own Generation Recovery Plan.
ICJ case
South Africa in 2024 continued its work on the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in Gaza (South Africa v. Israel) matter.
This as it said that it had no regrets about becoming the first country to file a lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to end its “deadly and relentless genocidal bombardment” of Gaza.
In October 2024, it formally filed its Memorial to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) marking a significant step in the ongoing legal action, which aims to hold Israel accountable under international law.
The action taken by South Africa since December 2023, culminating in the filing of the Memorial, has generated overwhelming national and international interest.
In his Opening of Parliament Address (OPA) in July last year, the President appealed to the larger South African family to behave as weaver birds.
“We would like all of us as South Africans to behave like ‘weaver birds’. Weavers are among the most gregarious birds in that they build complex structures together and cooperate.
"Despite all the challenges, despite our differences, despite all the headwinds, as South Africans we are called upon to remain firmly committed to pursue the path of cooperation, growth and inclusion,” he said at the time.
As the larger South African family, let us gather around our television and radio sets to hear what the President has to say.
The SONA will get underway at 7pm on Thursday, 6 February 2025. -SAnews.gov.za
