As South Africans brace for the upcoming State of the Nation Address, a sense of déjà vu washes over us. Eight years ago, President Ramaphosa uttered the stirring words “Thuma Mina” – send me – beckoning a new era of hope and change. Today, we ask: where is the change?
The intervening years have been marked by unfulfilled promises: houses in Alexandra, a university in Ekurhuleni, and countless others remain mere rhetoric. The vulnerable continue to bear the brunt of this disconnect. Tintswalo’s tragic story – a life lost amidst joblessness, poverty, and despair – serves as a stark reminder of our collective failure.
When disaster strikes, where is the President? Absent. Children perish in scholar transport accidents, food poisoning claims lives in foreign-owned spaza shops, and the response is crickets. Meanwhile, the privileged few receive increments, while the vulnerable survive on R350.
This is not governance; it’s abandonment. The “nation” in State of the Nation Address feels like a cruel joke. The elite will don designer attire, smiling and laughing, as the poor, unemployed graduates, shack dwellers, whistleblowers, and activists are left to suffer without hope.
We don’t eat words; we need action. Yet, South Africans remain an afterthought in their own country. The poor get poorer, while the powerful thrive. The truth is stark: under Ramaphosa’s reign, South Africans are on their own.
The question echoes: will we continue down this path of despair, or will we demand a different future?
Ms Phathiwe Ndlelleni
Founder, South Africa for South Africans
081 060 8244