On 12 February at 19:00, President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his State of the Nation Address, once again presenting South Africa with a list of promises and fine words about economic growth, reform and job creation.
Year after year, South Africans listen to the promises made in President Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Addresses, yet the reality for our society remains harsh and full of contradictions. TLU SA expects a repetition on 12 February of plans announced last year, which have still resulted in no meaningful shift in the country’s direction.
During President Ramaphosa’s 2025 State of the Nation Address, a series of major plans were announced: investments in infrastructure amounting to nearly R940 billion over three years, reform of state-owned enterprises such as Eskom and Transnet, and a R20 billion transformation fund to support small and black-owned businesses. There was talk of economic growth, reforms and new opportunities for the youth. Have these promises brought about any real change?
In the meantime, more than one million potential entrepreneurs have left the country because they could not find here the opportunities that were promised to them. Many of these individuals were precisely those who could have invested, created jobs and strengthened the economic driving force of this country. Unemployment remains alarmingly high, stock theft, crime and poor governance continue, and state institutions still function poorly due, among other factors, to the incompetence caused by cadre deployment. This is the same reality to which TLU SA has been pointing for years, and which we see as the direct result of policy directions that simply do not work.
TLU SA states unequivocally that these year-on-year promises make no difference. “Words alone do not lead to real change,” says Bennie van Zyl, General Manager of TLU SA. “We see infrastructure continuing to deteriorate, state entities unable to fulfil their mandates, and an economy that is stagnating while ordinary South Africans have ever less confidence in the future of this country.”
A large part of what the government calls ‘transformation’ and ‘reform’ is merely rhetorical and conceals the real undermining of investment confidence and economic stability.
“TLU SA demands an honest accounting of the current reality,” says Van Zyl regarding the upcoming State of the Nation Address. “The President should honestly tell South Africa that ANC policies have not led to the advanced economic growth, stability and service delivery that were needed and promised, and that policies based purely on ideology only result in poverty and frustration worldwide.”
TLU SA expects this State of the Nation Address to honestly address what was promised last year and what has, in fact, been achieved. The organisation calls for concrete plans that prioritise real economic growth, the restoration of stability, job creation, and an environment in which farming and food security are genuinely supported.
