In South Africa, everyone calls this speech by its acronym, SONA, for “State of the Nation address”. It is the annual policy address to both Houses of Parliament, the equivalent of the Queen’s Speech in the UK, or the State of the Union Address in the US. For the first time, this February 10 in the evening, the event will not take place in Parliament, but in the town hall of Cape Town. And for good reason: in early January, the Parliament burned down, destroyed by arson.
Maintaining the speech of President Ramaphosa testifies to a form of democratic resilience in the face of adversity. But the climate is still very particular. Security measures have been drastically reinforced throughout the city. The press says some MPs may seek to disrupt the speech. And all this is taking place on the eve of a new appearance in court for the alleged arsonist of Parliament, Zandile Mafe, a 49-year-old man charged with terrorism.
FINAL KEYS: President @CyrilRamaphosa works with DP @DDMabuza, @PresidencyZA Minister @MondliGungubel_ & Finance Minister @EnochGodongwana on tonight’s State of the Nation Address. You can follow the address live on all major news channels and @PresidencyZA channels #SONA2022 pic.twitter.com/nBQXsouCxC
— Presidency | South Africa (@PresidencyZA) February 10, 2022
The country is emerging from a trying year, marked by riots and real political instability. The South African giant and its almost 60 million inhabitants has been in the midst of turbulence for months. Last summer, violent riots left 350 dead and really shook the country: roads blocked, shops looted, especially in Johannesburg and Durban.
An official report published Monday, February 7 makes the link between these riots and internal tensions in the ANC, the party in power. In fact, one of the triggers for this violence was the condemnation of former President Jacob Zuma, the architect of a vast system of corruption: embezzlement of public contracts, allocation of positions to those close to him in private companies and senior administration. After Zuma was sentenced to one year in prison, his supporters were the first to take to the streets. One of Cyril Ramaphosa’s objectives is therefore also to regain control of his party and eradicate corruption. Not easy after nine years of Zuma governance, from 2009 to 2018.
Moreover, the overall economic and social situation is very bad. South Africa is unable to recover from the pandemic, which has killed almost 100,000 people in the country, a balance sheet comparable to that of France when it is related to the number of inhabitants. But this is only the official report, probably undervalued. And above all there is the economic impact. The unemployment rate has reached 35%, or 13 million people out of work. Among young people, it even reaches 50%.
Growth is stagnant, at less than 2%. Power cuts are frequent, the management of the national company Eskom has been wanting for a long time. Engineers flee the country. And poverty automatically engenders more delinquency and insecurity. Cyril Ramaphosa plans to announce an extension of the emergency allowance of 350 rand – roughly 20 euros – put in place during the pandemic. But that will not be enough to calm the country.