Julius Malema at SONA: “We warned you, Cyril Ramaphosa — you’ve failed.”

Critique of Governance and Economic Policy

• 💡 The speaker asserts that President Ramaphosa has failed to take responsibility for job creation, fighting crime, infrastructure development, and economic growth, despite past promises.
• 📌 Concerns were raised that the government has auctioned off South Africa's sovereignty by selling strategic assets like ports, railways, and energy capacity to the private sector, including Black Rock.
• 📊 The claimed budget surplus is criticized as an indicator of austerity, not economic health, given high unemployment, collapsing municipal infrastructure, and widespread poverty.
• 📉 The government's economic growth projections are seen as underperforming original commitments, with a 1.5% prediction instead of the promised 3%.

Addressing the Crime and Security Crisis

• ⚠️ The deployment of the army to combat crime is viewed as an admission of the government's failure to fight crime through conventional law enforcement.
• 🛡️ It is argued that the military is not trained for civilian law enforcement and is under-resourced due to austerity measures, making it unsuitable for addressing the national crime crisis.
• 🔑 The speaker emphasized that crime is a social crisis linked to unemployment, alcohol and substance abuse, and high youth dropout rates, which must be resolved for lasting safety.
• 🚨 Organized crime, including drug syndicates and sex trafficking rings, has infiltrated government, suggesting that simply putting guns on the streets will not solve the issue.

Infrastructure and Service Delivery Failures

• ⚡ The electricity crisis is deemed far from over, with "load reduction" being a new name for load shedding, and a focus on affluent areas while other communities continue to suffer.
• 💧 Municipalities are criticized for lacking knowledge of water infrastructure and responding reactively to issues, leading to ongoing water supply problems.
• 🏗️ The equitable share model for municipal funding is called outdated, allocating insufficient funds to local government and hindering their ability to be self-reliant in de-industrializing areas.
• ✅ The speaker suggested that major industries should be incentivized to invest in municipal infrastructure like roads, water, and clinics in exchange for rate paying.

International Relations and Accountability

• 🌍 The speaker expressed full support for the government's stance on international relations, including solidarity with Palestine, Western Sahara, South Sudan, and Cuba.
• 🤝 There was an agreement that Africa should negotiate trade relations as a bloc and resist external bullying regarding its foreign policy and alliances.
• 🚫 The government was urged to denounce xenophobia and close the Israeli embassy, following a National Assembly resolution, and to refuse cooperation with a "rampant racist" US diplomat.
• ⚖️ The Pala Pala scandal and other corruption allegations have rendered the President ineffective in dealing with incompetence and corruption within his party and cabinet, leading to a lack of consequence management for implicated officials.