‘South Africans are tired of being lied to’ – Mashaba wants to see a SONA of truth

Mashaba

Cape Town — ActionSA leader, Herman Mashaba, said South Africans are tired of being lied to when it comes to the State of The Nation Address (SONA) as the party reflects on failed promises.

In a pre-SONA address, Mashaba conveyed his condolences to the families of the 14 South African soldiers who were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and questioned the true intentions behind South Africa’s involvement in the DRC.

“It’s important that a multiparty parliamentary and expert committee is assembled to make sense of our military presence in the DRC and clarify our endgame,” he said,” he said.

He maintained that South Africans are tired of being lied to and wanted the SONA to be a moment of truth, where President Cyril Ramaphosa accounts for all the promises he made and presents a credible plan for the future of South Africans.

Instead, he said the SONA has become a grand production where “so-called leaders” parade down the red carpet, all while South Africa deals with high unemployment rates as one of the most unequal societies in the world.

Mashaba criticised the Government of National Unity (GNU) for becoming an ANC-led coalition and said the GNU has not yet delivered on the changes it has promised.

“What we have witnessed, however, is a GNU that has turned into nothing but an ANC-led coalition where only the cadres, their politically connected friends and now, former loud opposition party officials, continue to prosper while ordinary South Africans remain left behind,” he said.

Mashaba said ActionSA’s mission was to challenge the status quo and play a part in making life better and restore the dignity of all South Africans.

“We believe in real inclusive economic empowerment and transformation, where every hardworking South African – irrespective of their background – can build a prosperous future; not just the well-connected, not just those with ANC or DA membership cards. All of us!” he said.

Among he failures of the GNU, according to Mashaba, includes the economy remaining stagnant, rampant crime, unemployment, and an education crisis.

“The GNU must be watched with the eye of the hawk. It must never benefit from blind trust by the public. We know better now! Expropriation must serve the public good, not enrich political cronies,” he said.

Mashaba highlighted the changes he was able to implement during his time as Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor.

“We took back hijacked and abandoned buildings, not for politicians but to provide housing for our people. We cleaned up parts of the inner city and made housing available for hardworking South Africans,” he said.

He pinpointed a 7-point plan to put South Africans first.

  1. Fix the economy
  2. End lawlessness
  3. Secure our borders
  4. Fix Education
  5. Clean up local government
  6. Protect local business
  7. Strengthen South Africa’s voice in the global arena

Mashaba pledged that ActionSA will do whatever it must do to ensure it occupies decisive government seats and lead local municiaplities. He said the success of ActionSA in tshwane is a sign of things to come and will move from a SONA of broken promises to one that can celebrate progress.

“President Ramaphosa will stand before this nation and repeat the same tired lines. Amidst loud applause from his party and GNU benches, he will ask for more time, make more excuses, and insist that progress is being made. But you know the truth. You live it every day,” he said.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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