Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Thandi Modise,
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Mr Amos Masondo,
Deputy President David Mabuza,
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and esteemed members of the judiciary,
Former President, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe,
Former President, Mr Thabo Mbeki,
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Frene Ginwala,
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Max Sisulu,
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Baleka Mbete,
President of the Pan African Parliament, Mr Roger Nkodo Dang,
Veterans of the struggle for liberation,
Dr Dennis Goldberg,
Dr Andrew Mlangeni,
Advocate Priscilla Jana,
Ms Joyce Dipale,
Ms Lillian Keagile,
Ms Smally Maqungo,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Premiers and Speakers of Provincial Legislatures,
Chairperson of SALGA and Executive Mayors,
Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Mr Lesetja Kganyago,
Heads of Chapter 9 Institutions,
Leaders of faith based organisations,
Leaders of academic and research institutions,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Invited Guests,
Honourable Members of the National Assembly,
Honourable Members of the National Council of Provinces,
Fellow South Africans,
 
We gather here at the start of the 6th Democratic Parliament, 106 years to the day after the Natives Land Act – one of the most devastating acts of dispossession, pain and humiliation – came into force.
 
We recall the words of Sol Plaatje on that tragic event, when he said:
 
“Awakening on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth.”
 
Our people suffered gravely and endured untold hardships as a result of the implementation of the Natives Land Act. The effect of that law are still present with us.

More than a century after that grave injustice, we are called upon to forge a South Africa where no person will be slave or pariah, only free and equal and respected.
 
We gather here at an extremely difficult and challenging time in the life of our young democracy.

Yet, we are also at a moment in our history that holds great hope and promise.
 
In 25 years of democracy we have made remarkable progress in building a new nation in which all South Africans have equal rights and broadening opportunities.
 
Over 25 years, we have done much to meet people’s basic needs, to reduce poverty and to transform a devastated economy that was built to serve the interests of the few.
 
Working together, we have laid a firm foundation on which we can build a country
in which all may know peace and comfort and contentment.
 
Yet, we also meet at a time when our country is confronted by severe challenges.
 
Our economy is not growing. Not enough jobs are being created.
 
This is the concern that rises above all others.
 
It affects everyone.
 
It affects you, the young man eMzimhlope, out of school five years now and still not employed.
 
It impacts you, the single mother from Delft, whose grant supports not just yourself but your grandchildren too.
 
It hurts you, the worker in Nelson Mandela Bay, who despite earning a salary is struggling to make ends meet.
 
It is hard for you, the young student from the Sol Plaatje University, who must rely on a thin stipend from your parents to feed yourself.
 
Yours are the lived struggles of the people of this nation.
 
We have heard you, and many others.
 
Sinizwile. Hi twile. To zwi pfa. Re itlwile.
 
Through the elections held in May, you provided all of us with a clear mandate for growth and renewal.
 
All of us have heard you – myself, Hon Maimane, Hon Malema, Hon Buthelezi, Hon Groenewald, Hon Meshoe, Hon Holomisa, Hon Zungula, Hon De Lille, Hon Magwaza-Msibi, Hon Galo, Hon Lekota, Hon Nyhontso and Hon Hendricks.
 
The persistent legacy of apartheid has left our country with extreme structural problems – both economic and social.
 
At the same time, we are having to contend with rapid technological change that is ushering in a new world of work, that is reshaping the global economy and that is redefining social relations.
 
Together with all the nations of the world, we are confronted by the most devastating changes in global climate in human history.
 
The extreme weather conditions associated with the warming of the atmosphere threaten our economy, they threaten the lives and the livelihoods of our people, and – unless we act now – will threaten our very existence.
 
We have heard the voices of the young people who marched to the Union Buildings last week urging us to take action to protect our planet.
 
It was to address these fundamental challenges that we adopted the National Development Plan in 2012 to guide our national effort to defeat poverty, unemployment and inequality.
 
However, with 10 years to go before we reach the year 2030, we have not made nearly enough progress in meeting the NDP targets.
 
Unless we take extraordinary measures, we will not realise Vision 2030.
 
This means that we need to prioritise.
 
We need to focus on those actions that will have the greatest impact, actions that will catalyse faster movement forward, both in the immediate term and over the next 10 years.
 
It is worth noting that the Medium-Term Strategic Framework for the last five years had more than 1,100 indicators by which we were to measure progress in the implementation of the NDP.
 
Now is the time to focus on implementation.
 
It is time to make choices.
 
Some of these choices may be difficult and some may not please everyone.
 
In an economy that is not growing, at a time when public finances are limited, we will not be able to do everything at one time.
 
As we enter this new administration, we will focus on seven priorities:
 
- Economic transformation and job creation
- Education, skills and health
- Consolidating the social wage through reliable and quality basic services
- Spatial integration, human settlements and local government
- Social cohesion and safe communities
- A capable, ethical and developmental state
- A better Africa and World
 
All our programmes and policies across all departments and agencies will be directed in pursuit of these overarching tasks.
 
At the same time, we must restore the National Development Plan to its place at the centre of our national effort, to make it alive, to make it part of the lived experience of the South African people.
 
At the inauguration, we said that this is a defining moment for our young nation.
 
We also said that it is through our actions now that we will determine our destiny.
 
As South Africa enters the next 25 years of democracy, and in pursuit of the objectives of the NDP, let us proclaim a bold and ambitious goal, a unifying purpose, to which we dedicate all our resources and energies.
 
As we enter the last decade of Vision 2030, let us even more clearly define the South Africa we want and agree on the concrete actions we need to achieve them.
 
To ensure that our efforts are directed, I am suggesting that, within the priorities of this administration, we agree on five fundamental goals for the next decade.
 
Let us agree, as a nation and as a people united in our aspirations, that within the next 10 years we will have made progress in tackling poverty, inequality and unemployment, where:
 
- No person in South Africa will go hungry.
 
- Our economy will grow at a much faster rate than our population.
 
- Two million more young people will be in employment.
 
- Our schools will have better educational outcomes and every 10 year old will be able to read for meaning.
 
- Violent crime will be halved.
 
Let us make these commitments now – to ourselves and to each other – knowing that they will stretch our resources and capabilities, but understanding that if we achieve these five goals, we will have fundamentally transformed our society.
 
We set these ambitious goals not despite the severe difficulties of the present, but because of them.
 
We set these goals so that the decisions we take now are bolder and we act with greater urgency.
 
Our determination that within the next decade that no person in South Africa will go hungry is fundamental to our effort to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality.
 
In addition to creating employment and other economic opportunities, this means that we must strengthen the social wage and reduce the cost of living.
 
It means we must improve the affordability, safety and integration of commuter transport for low income households.
 
While we have made great progress in providing housing, many South Africans still need land to build homes and earn livelihoods.
 
In the next five years, we will accelerate the provision of well-located housing and land to poor South Africans.
 
To improve the quality of life of South Africans, to reduce poverty in all its dimensions and to strengthen our economy, we will attend to the health of our people.
 
We must attend to the capacity of our hospitals and clinics.
 
An 80-year-old grandmother cannot spend an entire day in a queue waiting for her medication.
 
An ill patient cannot be turned away because there is a shortage of doctors and nurses.
 
A woman in labour cannot have her unborn child’s life put in danger because the ambulance has taken too long to come.
 
As part of the work we must urgently do to improve the quality of the health system, we are finalising the Presidential Health Summit Compact, which draws on the insights and will mobilise the capabilities of all key stakeholders to address the crisis in our clinics and hospitals.
 
We are far advanced in revising the NHI detailed plan of implementation, including accelerating quality of care initiatives in public facilities, building human resource capacity, establishment of the NHI Fund structure, and costing the administration of the NHI Fund.
 
We remain concerned about rising HIV infections rates, particularly among young women, and the relatively low numbers of men testing for HIV and starting treatment.
 
We will intensify our work to implement the 90-90-90 strategy to end HIV as a public health threat, which includes increasing the number of people on treatment by at least another 2 million by December 2020.
 
If we are to successfully address the challenge of poverty across society, we need to provide skills and create economic opportunities for persons with disabilities.
 
It is therefore a matter of great concern that there are around half a million children of school-going age with disabilities who are not in school.
 
In responding to these challenges, we have moved the coordination of disability initiatives to the centre of government, in the Presidency.
 
We have revived the Presidential Working Group on Disability, and will submit the Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa to Parliament this year for ratification.
 
To address the problems of the working poor, the national minimum wage has been in place for six months and the early indications are that many companies are complying.
 
The National Minimum Wage Commission is expected to conclude research on the impact of the minimum wage on employment, poverty, inequality and wage differentials by the end of September 2019.
 
We cannot turn our fortunes around without a relentless focus on economic growth.
 
Within the next decade, it is our ambition that our economy should be growing at a rate far greater than our population.
 
It is only when we reach consistently high rates of growth that we will be able to reverse the economic damage of our past.
 
We make this assertion at a time when the economic outlook is extremely weak.
 
Following the sharp contraction in growth in the first quarter, the Reserve Bank now projects that growth in 2019 is likely to be lower than anticipated in the February Budget.
 
One reason for the lacklustre economic performance has been the load shedding early this year, together with the continued uncertainty in the supply of electricity and the state of Eskom.
 
The lesson is clear: for growth, we need a reliable and sustainable supply of electricity.
 
Eskom is facing serious financial, operational and structural problems.
 
Since the load shedding earlier this year, Eskom has made much progress in implementing its nine-point plan, ensuring better maintenance of its generation fleet, reducing costs and ensuring adequate reserves of coal.
 
In line with the recommendations of both the Eskom Sustainability Task Team and the Technical Review Team, Eskom is deploying its most skilled and experienced personnel to where they are needed most.
 
The utility’s financial position remains a matter of grave concern.
 
With the current committed funding from government, outlined in the 2019 Budget, Eskom has sufficient cash to meet its obligations until the end of October 2019.
 
For Eskom to default on its loans will cause a cross-default on its remaining debt and would have a huge impact on the already constrained fiscus.
 
We will therefore table a Special Appropriation Bill on an urgent basis to allocate a significant portion of the R230 billion fiscal support that Eskom will require over the next 10 years in the early years.
 
This we must do because Eskom is to vital to our economy to be allowed to fail.
 
Further details will be provided by the Minister of Finance in due course.
 
We will announce the appointment of a new CEO following the Mr Phakamani Hadebe stepping down. He came in at a difficult time at ESKOM and has done a great deal with the board led by Mr Jabu Mabuza to stabilize the company. 

We will soon also be appointing a Chief Restructuring Officer, who will be expected to reposition Eskom financially with careful attention to the mix between revenue, debt and cost structure of the company.
 
Eskom is working with government and other stakeholders to address its overall debt as well the debt owed by municipalities and individual users.
 
As a country, we must assert the principle that those who use electricity must pay for it.
 
Failure to pay endangers our entire electricity supply, our economy and our efforts to create jobs.
 
The days of boycotting payment are over. This is now the time to build it is the time for all of us to make our own contribution.
 
Fellow South Africans,
 
To meet our growth targets, we will rebuild the foundations of our economy by revitalising and expanding the productive sectors.
 
This requires us to reimagine our industrial strategy, to unleash private investment and energise the state to boost economic inclusion.
 
It requires the state to effectively play its role as an enabler that provides basic services and critical infrastructure, a regulator that sets rules that create equitable opportunities for all players, and a redistributor that ensures that the most vulnerable in society are protected and given a chance to live up to their full potential.
 
We will give priority attention to the economic sectors that have the greatest potential for growth.
 
Drawing on our successes in the automotive sector, we will implement master plans developed with business and labour in industries like clothing and textiles, gas, chemicals and plastics, renewables, and steel and metals fabrication sectors.
 
We are going to substantially expand the agriculture and agro-processing sector by supporting key value chains and products, developing new markets and reducing our reliance on agricultural imports.
 
We will bolster the mining industry by developing markets for South African minerals through targeted beneficiation, reduced costs of inputs, and increased research and development.
 
Through spatial interventions like special economic zones, reviving local industrial parks, business centres, digital hubs and township and village enterprises, we will bring economic development to local areas. We will also focus on small medium enterprises in our cities, townships and rural areas and create market places where they trade their products.
 
We will make good on our ambition to more than double international tourist arrivals to 21 million by 2030.
 
This will be achieved through the renewal of the country’s brand, introducing a world-class visa regime and a significant focus on Chinese and Indian markets and air arrivals from the rest of our continent.
 
We are determined to ensure that tourists who come to our country are safe.
 
We will expand our high tech industry by ensuring that the legal and regulatory framework promotes innovation, scaling up skills development for young people in new technologies, and reducing data costs. Wherever we have gone young people have continuously raised the issue of the excessive high data costs in South Africa.
 
To provide impetus to this process, within the next month, the Minister of Communications will issue the policy direction to ICASA to commence the spectrum licensing process.
 
This process will include measures to promote competition, transformation, inclusive growth of the sector and universal access.
 
This is a vital part of bringing down the costs of data, which is essential both for economic development and for unleashing opportunities for young people.
 
We call on the telecommunications industry further to bring down the cost of data so that it is in line with other countries in the world.
 
We are intensifying our investment drive.
 
Of the R300 billion of investments announced at our inaugural Investment Conference last year, just over R250 billion worth of projects has entered implementation phase.
 
We continue to build a pipeline of investments, which will be showcased at the second South African Investment Conference to be held on 5 to 7 November.
 
At a time of uncertainty, the work of the investment envoys has built important bridges between government and the business community.
 
From their feedback, it is clear that much more still needs to be done to improve the investment climate.
 
This includes reviewing the way Government coordinates work to resolve challenges faced by investors and reforming our investment promotion policy and architecture.
 
Good progress has been made through the Public-Private Growth Initiative, which is being championed by Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Mr Roelf Meyer and Dr Johan van Zyl.
 
The private sector has committed to invest R840 billion in 43 projects over 19 sectors and creating 155,000 jobs in the next five years.
 
In discussions with business, government has committed to remove the policy impediments and accelerate implementation of these projects.
 
We are urgently working on a set of priority reforms to improve the ease of doing business by consolidating and streamlining regulatory processes, automating permit and other applications, and reducing the cost of compliance.
 
Infrastructure is a critical area of investment that supports structural transformation, growth and job creation.
 
It is essential to our economic rejuvenation, to giving meaning and effect to our new dawn.
 
Our new approach to infrastructure development is based on stronger partnerships between the public and private sectors, and with local communities.
 
It includes a special package of financial and institutional measures to boost construction and prioritise water infrastructure, roads and student accommodation through a more efficient use of budgeted money.
 
As announced in the previous SONA, Government has set aside R100 billion to seed the Infrastructure Fund.
 
We are working to institutionalise the fund, which will be managed by the Development Bank of Southern Africa, with the newly configured Department of Public Works and Infrastructure playing an oversight role.
 
We have been doing this in consultation with private investors, such as pension funds, who are enthusiastic about participating in the Infrastructure fund.
 
These reforms will ensure better planning of infrastructure projects, rigorous feasibility and preparatory work, improved strategic management, impeccable execution and better governance.
 
This will provide a much-need boost to the construction sector.
 
We will stimulate local demand and grow South African manufacturing by making sure the ‘Buy Local’ campaign is everywhere and ever-present.
 
We call on all South Africans to deliberately and consistently buy locally-made goods.
 
The suit, the shirt and the tie I am wearing today was locally made by South African textile workers working at the House of Monatic here in Saltriver Cape Town.
 
Let us all buy locally-made goods to drive up demand in our economy.
 
Within this next year, we seek to conclude agreements with retailers to stock more South African goods on their shelves and to actively promote the great products made by South African hands.
 
At the same time, we will promote our products more actively to the rest of the African continent and the world.
 
These measures are underpinned by our strong commitment to a macroeconomic and fiscal policy framework that will continue to boost confidence and investment.
 
We are committed to prudent borrowing and stringent expenditure management to stabilise our public finances and lower the debt trajectory.
 
The South African Reserve Bank is a critical institution of our democracy, enjoying wide credibility and standing within the country and internationally.
 
Price stability is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for economic growth.
 
Rising prices of goods and services erode the purchasing power of all South Africans, but especially that of the poor.
 
Inflation further undermines the competitiveness of our exports and our import-competing firms, putting industries and jobs at risk.
 
For these reasons, our Constitution mandates the South African Reserve Bank to protect the value of our currency in the interest of balanced and sustainable growth.
 
Today we reaffirm this constitutional mandate, which the Reserve Bank must pursue independently, without fear, favour or prejudice.
 
Our Constitution also requires that there should be regular consultation between the Reserve Bank and the Minister of Finance to promote macroeconomic coordination, all in the interests of employment creation and economic growth.
 
If we are to be internationally competitive, if we are to attract investment, we must address the high cost of doing business and complicated and lengthy regulatory processes.
 
We must reach a point where no company need wait more than six months for a permit or licence and new companies should be able to be registered within a day.
 
We will continue to reduce the cost of doing business by reducing port export tariffs, pursuing lowest cost electricity generation options, and making rail transport more competitive and efficient.
 
Guided by the NDP, it is our responsibility to pursue inclusive, sustainable development that is resilient in the face of climate change.
 
Working in partnership with the private sector, labour and the international community we will step up our adaptation and mitigation efforts.
 
We have the opportunity to be at the forefront of green growth, of low-carbon industrialisation, of pioneering new technologies and of taking quantum leaps towards the economy of the future.
 
We must increase the contribution of renewable and clean energy to our national energy mix and explore the potential of the hydrogen economy.
 
Faster economic growth also requires accelerated land reform in rural and urban areas and a clear property rights regime.
 
We have received the report of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture, which will now be presented to Cabinet for consideration.
 
The panel’s recommendations will inform the finalisation of a comprehensive, far-reaching and transformative land reform programme.
 
In the immediate term, government will accelerate efforts to identify and release public land that is suitable for smart, urban settlements and for farming.
 
In the stimulus and recovery package announced last year, we promised to prioritise funding for emerging farmers.
 
Over the medium term budget period, R3.9 billion has been allocated to the Land Bank to support black commercial farmers.
 
An essential part of South Africa’s growth strategy is the integration of our economy with those of our neighbours and the rest of our continent.
 
The African Continental Free Trade Area will improve the movement of goods and services, capital and means of production across the Continent.
 
Our revitalised industrial strategy focuses on the expansion of our trade and investment links with the rest of the Southern African region and the Continent at large.
 
Within SADC, we will prioritise development of cross-border value chains in key sectors such as energy, mining and mineral beneficiation, manufacturing, infrastructure and agro-processing.
 
Fellow South Africans,
 
The growth of our economy will have little value unless it creates employment on a far greater scale.
 
The fact that the unemployment rate among young South Africans is more than 50% is a national crisis that demands urgent, innovative and coordinated solutions.
 
And because more young people are entering the labour force every year, the economy needs to create far more jobs for youth than it currently does merely to keep the youth unemployment rate steady.
 
The brutal reality is that when it comes to youth unemployment, we have to run just to remain in the same place.
 
It is therefore essential that we proceed without delay to implement a comprehensive plan – driven and coordinated from the Presidency – to create no fewer than two million new jobs for young people within the next decade.
 
This plan will work across government departments and all three tiers of government, in partnership with the private sector.
 
We are already working with the private sector to create pathways into work for young people through scaling up existing pathway management networks.
 
These are networks that allow young people who opt in increased visibility, network support and opportunities to signal their availability for jobs and self-employment.
 
They make sure that youth from poorer households – and youn women in particular – are empowered to take up the new opportunities.
 
Government will continue to provide employment through the Expanded Public Works Programme, especially in labour intensive areas like maintenance, clearing vegetation, plugging water leaks and constructing roads.
 
We will continue to develop programmes to ensure that economically excluded young people are work ready and absorbed into sectors where ‘jobs demand’ is growing.
 
These sectors include global business processing services, agricultural value chains, technical installation, repair and maintenance and new opportunities provided through the digital economy and the fourth industrial revolution.
 
Government will also ensure that young people are employed in social economy jobs such as early childhood development and health care.
 
We will expand the National Youth Service to take on 50,000 young people a year.
 
Government will support tech-enabled platforms for self-employed youth in rural areas and townships.
 
We will expand our programmes to enable young people to gain paid workplace experience through initiatives like the Youth Employment Service, and also facilitating work-based internships for graduates of technical and vocational programmes.
 
We are going to roll out out small business incubation centres to provide youth-driven start-ups with financial and technical advice as they begin their journeys.
 
Yesterday, I had the great privilege to meet and engage in dialogue with several young South Africans who are doing amazing work to build our country and develop our people.
 
They are entrepreneurs and community builders, activists and artists.
 
If there is one thing we have learned from our engagements with this country’s youth is that we cannot impose our solutions: everything we have to do must be led by them.
 
They have told us what they want, and what they need.
 
They want to be employed, yes, but they also want to become employers.
 
They are brimming with ideas, they are at the forefront of innovation, and they want to do things for themselves.
 
We have to support the fire of entrepreneurship, because the fortunes of this country depend on the energies and creative talent of our young people.
 
Fellow South Africans,
 
If we are to ensure that within the next decade, every 10 year old will be able to read for meaning, we will need to mobilise the entire nation behind a massive reading campaign.
 
Early reading is the basic foundation that determines a child’s educational progress, through school, through higher education and into the work place.
 
All other interventions – from the work being done to improve the quality of basic education to the provision of free higher education for the poor, from our investment in TVET colleges to the expansion of workplace learning – will not produce the results we need unless we first ensure that children can read.
 
It is through initiatives like the National Reading Coalition that we will be able to coordinate this national effort.
 
All foundation and intermediate phase teachers are to be trained to teach reading in English and the African languages, and we are training and deploying a cohort of experienced coaches to provide high quality on-site support to teachers.
 
We are implementing the Early Grade Reading Programme, which consists of an integrated package of lesson plans, additional reading materials and professional support to Foundation Phase teachers.
 
This forms part of the broader efforts to strengthen the basic education system by empowering school leadership teams, improving the capabilities of teachers and ensuring a more consistent measurement of progress for grades 3, 6 and 9.
 
We also have to prepare our young people for the jobs of the future.
 
This is why we are introducing subjects like coding and data analytics at a primary school level.
 
Honourable Members,
 
The South Africa we want is a country where all people are safe and feel safe.
 
Let us therefore work together to ensure that violent crime is at least halved over the next decade.
 
The first step is to increase police visibility by employing more policewomen and men, and to create a more active role for citizens through effective community policing forums.
 
Currently, there are over 5,000 students registered for basic training in our police training colleges and we envisage that this number will be increased to 7,000 per cycle over the next two intakes.
 
We are working to improve success rates in investigating and prosecuting crimes, and to ensure better training and professionalisation throughout the criminal justice system.
 
Violent crime is a societal problem that requires a society-wide response.
 
We are working with civil society organisations on strategies to end gender based violence and femicide.
 
Following intensive consultations and engagements, we are working towards the establishment of the Gender Based Violence and Femicide Council and a National Strategic Plan that will guide all of us, wherever we are, in our efforts to eradicate this national scourge.
 
We are capacitating and equipping the police and court system to support survivors of gender-based violence.
 
We are stepping up the fight against drug syndicates through the implementation of the National Anti-Gang Strategy and the revised National Drug Master Plan.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Guests,
 
The achievement of all these objectives requires a capable and developmental state.
 
This is a state that not only provides the institutions and infrastructure that enable the economy and society to operate, but that has the means to drive transformation.
 
Earlier this month we announced the reconfiguration of a number of government departments to enable them to deliver on their mandates.
 
Our decision was premised on efficiency, cost-containment, cooperative governance and strategic alignment.
 
This is the start of a wider process of arresting the decline in state capacity and restructuring our model of service delivery so it best serves our citizens.
 
We will be adopting a district-based approach – focusing on the 44 districts and 8 metros – to speed up service delivery, ensuring that municipalities are properly supported and adequately resourced.
 
To ensure that the state is able to effectively enable economic and social development, it is essential that we strengthen our state owned enterprises.
 
Through the Presidential SOE Council, government intends to create alignment between all state-owned companies and to better define their respective mandates.
 
Through the Council, we will work with the leadership of SOEs to develop a legal and regulatory environment that promotes innovation and agility and enhances their competitiveness. 
 
We will build on the work we have already begun to address problems of poor governance, inefficiency and financial sustainability.
 
We are committed to building an ethical state in which there is no place for corruption, patronage, rent-seeking and plundering of public money.
 
We want a corps of skilled and professional public servants of the highest moral standards – and dedicated to the public good.
 
The decisive steps we have taken to end state capture and fight corruption, including measures to strengthen the NPA, SIU, SARS and State Security, are achieving important results.
 
But there is still much more work to do.
 
We have asked the National Director of Public Prosecutions to develop a plan to significantly increase the capacity and effectiveness of the NPA, including to ensure effective asset forfeiture.
 
We need to ensure that public money stolen is returned and used to deliver services and much needed basic infrastructure to the poorest communities.
 
We expect that the new SIU Special Tribunal will start its work within the next few months to fast rack civil claims arising from SIU investigations, which are currently estimated to be around R14.7 billion.
 
South Africa will continue to play an active role in international relations in the quest for global peace and security, people-centered development and prosperity for all.
 
We renew our determination to work in concert with the international community to preserve and protect the rules-based multilateral system with the United Nations at its head.
 
We will use our membership of the UN Security Council to promote the peaceful resolution of disputes particularly on the African countries.
 
Fellow South Africans,
 
If we are to achieve the South Africa we want, we need a new social compact.
 
We need to forge durable partnerships between government, business, labour, communities and civil society.
 
This places a responsibility on each of us and all of us.
 
Government must create an enabling environment, use public resources wisely and invest in developing the country’s human potential.
 
We would like business to consider the country’s national strategic objectives and social considerations in their decisions and actions.
 
We agree that labour should advance the interests of workers while, at the same time, promoting the sustainability of businesses and the creation of jobs.
 
Civil society needs to continue to play its role in holding government to account but must also join us in practical actions to attain our common goals.
 
We look to the parties in this Parliament to be a vital part of this partnership, lending support, insights and effort to promoting the national interest.
 
This social compact requires a contribution from everyone.
 
It will also need sacrifices and trade-offs.
 
It is upon the conduct of each that the fate of all depends.
 
If we are to reinvigorate the implementation of the National Development Plan, we must cast our sights on the broadest of horizons.
 
We want a South Africa wherein all enjoy comfort and prosperity.
 
But we also want a South Africa where we stretch our capacities to the fullest as we advance along the superhighway of progress.
 
We want a South Africa that has prioritised its rail networks, and is producing high-speed trains connecting our megacities and the remotest areas of our country.
 
We should imagine a country where bullet trains pass through Johannesburg as they travel from here to Musina, and they stop in Buffalo City on their way from Ethekwini back here.
 
We want a South Africa with a high-tech economy where advances in e-health, robotics and remote medicine are applied as we roll out the National Health Insurance.
 
We want a South Africa that doesn’t simply export its raw materials but has become a manufacturing hub for key components used in electronics, in automobiles and in computers.
 
We must be a country that can feed itself and that harnesses the latest advances in smart agriculture.
 
I dream of a South Africa where the first entirely new city built in the democratic era rises, with skyscrapers, schools, universities, hospitals and factories.
 
This dream has been fueled by my conversations with four people: Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Dr Naledi Pandor, Ms Jessie Duarte and President Xi Jinping, whose account of how China is building a new Beijing has helped to consolidate my dream.
 
This is a dream we can all share and participate in building.
 
We have not built a new city in 25 years of democracy.
 
Seventy percent of South Africans are going to be living in the urban areas by 2030.
 
The cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Cape Town and Ethekwini are running out of space to accommodate all those who throng to the cities.
 
Has the time not arrived for us to be bold and reach beyond ourselves and do what may seem impossible?
 
Has the time not arrived to build a new smart city founded on the technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution? 
 
I would like to invite South Africans to begin imaging this prospect.
 
We are the South African nation that with its Constitution gives hope to the hopeless, rights to the dispossessed and marginalised, and comfort and security to its men, women and children.
 
Though we may have faltered, we have not forgotten who we are, and what we stand for.
 
We are still that nation.
 
You may ask how I can be hopeful at such a difficult time.
 
I am hopeful because I have walked with the people of this country – the nurses and health care workers, our men and women in uniform, the teachers in our schools, the students who despite their family’s hardship are determined to succeed, and the youth who are trying to start their own businesses, to invent and create, and to rise above their circumstances.
 
It is you who give me courage, and to whom I offer courage in return.
 
Working together there is nothing we cannot be, nothing we cannot do, and nothing we cannot achieve.
 
As we enter this new era, let us take to heart the words of Ben Okri, when he says:
 
Will you be at the harvest,
Among the gatherers of new fruits?
Then you must begin today to remake
Your mental and spiritual world,
And join the warriors and celebrants
Of freedom, realizers of great dreams.
You can’t remake the world
Without remaking yourself.
Each new era begins within.
It is an inward event,
With unsuspected possibilities
For inner liberation.
We could use it to turn on
Our inward lights.
We could use it to use even the dark
And negative things positively.
We could use the new era
To clean our eyes,
To see the world differently,
To see ourselves more clearly.
Only free people can make a free world.
Infect the world with your light.
Help fulfill the golden prophecies.
Press forward the human genius.
Our future is greater than our past.
 
I thank you.

20 June 2019 - 12:00am

Pretoria - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will depart tonight, Wednesday 27 May 2015 for London, UK where he will paying a working visit from   Thursday 28 May to Friday 29 May 2015.

During the visit Deputy President Ramaphosa will host a fundraising dinner in aid of the Adopt-a-School Foundation. The Foundation, of which   Deputy President Ramaphosa is the founder and chairperson, mobilises companies and individuals to adopt deserving schools in South Africa.

Deputy President Ramaphosa is expected to return to South Africa on Saturday 30 May 2015.

Enquiries: Ronnie Mamoepa 082 990 4853

Issued by: The Presidency

Pretoria

Pretoria - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa in his capacity as Special Envoy of President Jacob Zuma to South Sudan, will depart today on a two- nation’s visit to Nairobi and later Juba in South Sudan from Sunday 31 May-03 June 2015.  

Deputy President Ramaphosa will be joined by Abdurahman Kinana, the Secretary-General of Tanzania’s ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), as a co-guarantor of the SPLM Reunification Agreement.

During his visit to Kenya, Deputy President Ramaphosa is expected among others to meet with President Uhuru Kenyatta, attend Kenya’s National Day celebrations before consulting with SPLM’s Former Detainees. Deputy President Ramaphosa will then proceed to Juba South Sudan on Monday 01 June 2015 where he will hold meetings with President Salva Kirr and members of the SPLM Politburo.

The visit to Kenya and South Sudan by Deputy President Ramaphosa comes against the background of efforts aimed at cementing lasting peace in South Sudan building upon the   Reunification Agreement signed in Arusha Tanzania early this year.

The agreement was signed by the various factions of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM). The Reunification Agreement seeks to address the political, organisational and leadership issues that caused the political crisis in the ruling party and South Sudan in general.

During a meeting hosted in Pretoria in April by Deputy President Ramaphosa with representatives of SPLM (Juba) and SPLM (Former Detainees), consensus was reached on how best to strengthen and implement the Reunification Agreement.

The meeting also impressed upon all SPLM factions present to remain focused on the reunification of the SPLM as a means to unite South Sudan and end the war. In this regard, the SPLM factions reaffirmed their commitment to the full implementation of the SPLM Reunification Agreement.

Enquiries: Ronnie Mamoepa 082 990 4853

Issued by: The Presidency

Pretoria

Nairobi - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa in his capacity as Special Envoy of President Jacob Zuma to South Sudan, has today Sunday 31   May 2015, arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on his first leg of his two-nation’s visit to Nairobi and Juba in South Sudan. Deputy President Ramaphosa   will tomorrow, Monday 01 June 2015 proceed to Juba in South Sudan until 03 June 2015.

Deputy President Ramaphosa will be joined by Abdurahman Kinana, the Secretary-General of Tanzania’s ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi   (CCM), as a co-guarantor of the SPLM Reunification Agreement.

During his visit to Kenya, Deputy President Ramaphosa is expected among others to meet with President Uhuru Kenyatta, attend Kenya’s National Day celebrations before consulting with SPLM’s Former Detainees. Deputy President Ramaphosa will then proceed to Juba South Sudan on Monday 01 June 2015 where he will hold meetings with President Salva Kirr and members of the SPLM Politburo.

The visit to Kenya and South Sudan by Deputy President Ramaphosa comes against the background of efforts aimed at cementing lasting peace in South Sudan building upon the Reunification Agreement signed in Arusha Tanzania early this year.

The agreement was signed by the various factions of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM). The Reunification Agreement seeks to address the political, organisational and leadership issues that caused the political crisis in the ruling party and South Sudan in general.

During a meeting hosted in Pretoria in April by Deputy President Ramaphosa with representatives of SPLM (Juba) and SPLM (Former Detainees), consensus was reached on how best to strengthen and implement the Reunification Agreement.

The meeting also impressed upon all SPLM factions present to remain focused on the reunification of the SPLM as a means to unite South Sudan and end the war. In this regard, the SPLM factions reaffirmed their commitment to the full implementation of the SPLM Reunification Agreement.

Enquiries: Ronnie Mamoepa +2782 990 4853

Issued by: The Presidency

Pretoria

Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Baleka Mbete,
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Ms Thandi Modise,
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP,
Former President Thabo Mbeki,
Former Deputy President FW de Klerk,
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and all esteemed members of the judiciary,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Premiers and Speakers of Provincial Legislatures,
Chairperson of SALGA and all Executive Mayors present,
The Heads of Chapter 9 Institutions,
Chairperson of the National House of Traditional Leaders,
Leaders of faith based organisations,
Former Speaker Dr Frene Ginwala,
Former Speaker Mr Max Sisulu,
Invited Guests,
Veterans of the struggle for liberation,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Honourable members,

Fellow South Africans, 

It is a great honour and privilege to deliver this State of the Nation Address. 

This Address should have been delivered last week, but was delayed so that we could properly manage issues of political transition. 

I wish to thank Honourable Members and the people of South Africa for their patience and forbearance. 

I also wish to extend a word of gratitude to former President Jacob Zuma for the manner in which he approached this difficult and sensitive process. 

I wish to thank him for his service to the nation during his two terms as President of the Republic, during which the country made significant progress in several areas of development. 

Fellow South Africans, 

In just over 150 days from now, the peoples of the world will unite in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. 

It is a day on which we, as South Africans, will remember the life of one of the most remarkable leaders this country and this continent – and indeed, the world – has known. 

We will recount Madiba’s long walk to freedom, his wisdom, his unfailing humility, his abiding compassion and his essential integrity. 

We have dedicated this year to his memory and we will devote our every action, every effort, every utterance to the realisation of his vision of a democratic, just and equitable society. 

Guided by his example, we will use this year to reinforce our commitment to ethical behaviour and ethical leadership. 

In celebrating the centenary of Nelson Mandela we are not merely honouring the past, we are building the future. 

We are continuing the long walk he began, to build a society in which all may be free, in which all may be equal before the law and in which all may share in the wealth of our land and have a better life. 

We are building a country where a person’s prospects are determined by their own initiative and hard work, and not by the colour of their skin, place of birth, gender, language or income of their parents. 

This year, we also celebrate the centenary of another giant of our struggle, Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu. 

Through her remarkable life and outstanding contribution, she defined what it means to be a freedom fighter, a leader and a diligent and disciplined servant of the people. 

Through her leadership, she embodied the fundamental link between national liberation and gender emancipation. 

As we mark her centenary, we reaffirm that no liberation can be complete and no nation can be free until its women are free. 

We honour this son and this daughter of the African soil in a year of change, in a year of renewal, in a year of hope. 

We honour them not only in word, but, more importantly, in direct action towards the achievement of their shared vision of a better society. 

We should honour Madiba by putting behind us the era of discord, disunity and disillusionment. 

We should put behind us the era of diminishing trust in public institutions and weakened confidence in leaders. 

We should put all the negativity that has dogged our country behind us because a new dawn is upon us. 

It is a new dawn that is inspired by our collective memory of Nelson Mandela and the changes that are unfolding. 

As we rid our minds of all negativity, we should reaffirm our belief that South Africa belongs to all who live in it. 

For though we are a diverse people, we are one nation. 

There are 57 million of us, each with different histories, languages, cultures, experiences, views and interests. 

Yet we are bound together by a common destiny. 

For this, we owe much to our forebearers – people like Pixley ka Seme, Charlotte Maxeke and Chief Albert Luthuli – who understood the necessity of the unity and harmony of all the people of this great land. 

We are a nation at one. 

We are one people, committed to work together to find jobs for our youth; to build factories and roads, houses and clinics; to prepare our children for a world of change and progress; to build cities and towns where families may be safe, productive and content. 

We are determined to build a society defined by decency and integrity, that does not tolerate the plunder of public resources, nor the theft by corporate criminals of the hard-earned savings of ordinary people. 

While there are many issues on which we may differ, on these fundamental matters, we are at one. 

We know that there is still a lot that divides us. 

We remain a highly unequal society, in which poverty and prosperity are still defined by race and gender. 

We have been given the responsibility to build a new nation, to confront the injustices of the past and the inequalities of the present. 

We are called upon to do so under difficult conditions. 

The state we are in as a nation is that while poverty declined significantly following the democratic breakthrough of 1994, we have seen reverses in recent years. 

Poverty levels rose in 2015, unemployment has gone up and inequality has persisted. 

For several years our economy has not grown at the pace needed to create enough jobs or lift our people out of poverty. 

Public finances have been constrained, limiting the ability of government to expand its investment in economic and social development. 

Despite these challenging conditions, we have managed – working together – to achieve progress in improving the lives of our people. 

Even under conditions of weak growth, our economy has created jobs, but not at the pace required to absorb new entrants into the labour market. 

This means that as we pursue higher levels of economic growth and investment, we need to take additional measures to reduce poverty and meet the needs of the unemployed. 

Since the start of the current Parliament, our public employment programmes have created more than 3.2 million work opportunities. 

In the context of widespread unemployment, they continue to provide much needed income, work experience and training. 

We have taken measures to reduce the cost of living, especially for the poor. 

Government’s free basic services programme currently supports more than 3.5 million indigent households. 

More than 17 million social grants are paid each month, benefiting nearly a third of the population. 

We know, however, that if we are to break the cycle of poverty, we need to educate the children of the poor. 

We have insisted that this should start in early childhood. 

Today we have nearly a million children in early childhood development facilities. 

We are seeing improvements in the outcomes of our basic education system. 

The matric pass rate increased from 60.6 percent in 2009 to 75.1 percent last year. 

There are currently almost a million students enrolled in higher education, up from just over 500,000 in 1994.                                                                                                  

As we enter a new era, we are determined to build on these achievements, confront the challenges we face and accelerate progress in building a more prosperous and equitable society. 

We have seen a moderate recovery in our economy and a broader, sustained recovery in the global economy. 

Commodity prices have improved, the stock market has risen, the rand has strengthened and there are early indications that investor confidence is on the rise. 

We have taken decisive measures to address concerns about political instability and are committed to ensure policy certainty and consistency. 

There is a greater sense of optimism among our people. 

Our people are hopeful about the future. 

Business confidence among South African companies has improved and foreign investors are looking anew at opportunities in our country. 

Some financial institutions have identified South Africa as one of the hot emerging markets for 2018. 

Our task, as South Africans, is to seize this moment of hope and renewal, and to work together to ensure that it makes a meaningful difference in the lives of our people. 

This year, we will be initiating measures to set the country on a new path of growth, employment and transformation. 

We will do this by getting social partners in our country to collaborate in building a social compact on which we will create drivers of economic recovery. 

We have to build further on the collaboration with business and labour to restore confidence and prevent an investment downgrade. 

Tough decisions have to be made to close our fiscal gap, stabilise our debt and restore our state-owned enterprises to health. 

At the centre of our national agenda in 2018 is the creation of jobs, especially for the youth. 

We are going to embark on a number of measures to address the unemployment challenge. 

One of the initiatives will be to convene a Jobs Summit within the next few months to align the efforts of every sector and every stakeholder behind the imperative of job creation. 

The summit will look at what we need to do to ensure our economy grows and becomes more productive, that companies invest on a far greater scale, that workers are better equipped, and that our economic infrastructure is expanded. 

We will expect this summit to come up with practical solutions and initiatives that will be implemented immediately. 

We will make a major push this year to encourage significant new investment in our economy. 

To this end, we will organise an Investment Conference in the next three months, targeting both domestic and international investors, to market the compelling investment opportunities to be found in our country. 

We are going to address the decline over many years of our manufacturing capacity, which has deeply affected employment and exports. 

We will seek to re-industrialise on a scale and at a pace that draws millions of job seekers into the economy. 

We are going to promote greater investment in key manufacturing sectors through the strategic use of incentives and other measures. 

To further stimulate manufacturing, we will forge ahead with the localisation programme, through which products like textile, clothing, furniture, rail rolling stock and water meters are designated for local procurement. 

We have already spent more than R57 billion on locally-produced goods that may have been imported from other countries. 

Special economic zones remain important instruments we will use to attract strategic foreign and domestic direct investment and build targeted industrial capabilities and establish new industrial hubs. 

The process of industrialisation must be underpinned by transformation. 

Through measures like preferential procurement and the black industrialists programme, we are developing a new generation of black and women producers that are able to build enterprises of significant scale and capability. 

We will improve our capacity to support black professionals, deal decisively with companies that resist transformation, use competition policy to open markets up to new black entrants, and invest in the development of businesses in townships and rural areas. 

Radical economic transformation requires that we fundamentally improve the position of black women and communities in the economy, ensuring that they are owners, managers, producers and financiers. 

Our most grave and most pressing challenge is youth unemployment. 

It is therefore a matter of great urgency that we draw young people in far greater numbers into productive economic activity. 

Young South Africans will be moved to the centre of our economic agenda. 

They are already forming a greater proportion of the labour force on our infrastructure projects and are the primary beneficiaries of programmes such as the installation of solar water heaters and the war on leaks. 

We continue to draw young people in far greater numbers into productive economic activity through programmes such as the Employment Tax Incentive. 

Working in partnership with business, organised labour and community representatives, we are creating opportunities for young people to be exposed to the world of work through internships, apprenticeships, mentorship and entrepreneurship. 

Next month, we will launch the Youth Employment Service initiative, which will place unemployed youth in paid internships in companies across the economy. 

Together with our partners in business, we have agreed to create a million such internships in the next three years. 

If we are to respond effectively to the needs of youth, it is essential that young people articulate their views and are able to engage with government at the highest level. 

I will therefore be establishing a Youth Working Group that is representative of all young South Africans to ensure that our policies and programmes advance their interests. 

Infrastructure investment is key to our efforts to grow the economy, create jobs, empower small businesses and provide services to our people. 

We have invested heavily in new roads, power stations, schools and other infrastructure. 

As some of our projects are taking time to get off the ground and to enhance our efforts, I will assemble a team to speed up implementation of new projects, particularly water projects, health facilities and road maintenance. 

We have learnt some valuable lessons from our experience in building all the new infrastructure, which will inform our way ahead. 

We will focus on improvements in our budget and monitoring systems, improve the integration of projects and build a broad compact on infrastructure with business and organised labour. 

Mining is another area that has massive unrealised potential for growth and job creation is mining. 

We need to see mining as a sunrise industry. 

With the revival in commodity prices, we are determined to work with mining companies, unions and communities to grow the sector, attract new investment, create jobs and set the industry on a new path of transformation and sustainability. 

This year, we will intensify engagements with all stakeholders on the Mining Charter to ensure that it is truly an effective instrument to sustainably transform the face of mining in South Africa. 

By working together, in a genuine partnership, underscored by trust and a shared vision, I am certain we will be able to resolve the current impasse and agree on a Charter that both accelerates transformation and grows this vital sector of our economy. 

Processing of the MPRDA Amendment Bill through both houses of parliament is at an advanced stage, with an indication by Parliament that the Bill will reasonably be finalised during the first quarter of 2018. 

The Bill, once enacted into law, will entrench existing regulatory certainty, provide for security of tenure and advance the socio-economic interests of all South Africans. 

We are extremely concerned about the rise in mining fatalities last year. 

We call on mining companies to work together with all stakeholders to ensure that mine accidents are dramatically reduced. 

One mining fatality is one too many. 

Fellow South Africans, 

Ultimately, the growth of our economy will be sustained by small businesses, as is the case in many countries. 

It is our shared responsibility to grow this vital sector of the economy. 

We will work with our social partners to build a small business support ecosystem that assists, nourishes and promotes entrepreneurs. 

Government will honour its undertaking to set aside at least 30 percent of public procurement to SMMEs, cooperatives and township and rural enterprises. 

We will continue to invest in small business incubation. 

We encourage business to do the same. 

The establishment through the CEOs Initiative of a small business fund – which currently stands at R1.5 billion – is an outstanding example of the role that the private sector can play. 

Government is finalising a small business and innovation fund targeted at start-ups. 

We will reduce the regulatory barriers for small businesses. 

We are also working to expand economic opportunities for people with disabilities. 

Among other things, the Small Enterprise Finance Agency – SEFA – has launched a scheme to develop and fund entrepreneurs with disabilities called the Amavulandlela Funding Scheme. 

Agriculture presents one of the greatest opportunities to significantly grow our economy and create jobs. 

Agriculture made the largest contribution, by a significant margin, to the improved growth of our economy in the second and third quarters of 2017. 

This year, we will take decisive action to realise the enormous economic potential of agriculture. 

We will accelerate our land redistribution programme not only to redress a grave historical injustice, but also to bring more producers into the agricultural sector and to make more land available for cultivation. 

We will pursue a comprehensive approach that makes effective use of all the mechanisms at our disposal. 

Guided by the resolutions of the 54th National Conference of the governing party, this approach will include the expropriation of land without compensation. 

We are determined that expropriation without compensation should be implemented in a way that increases agricultural production, improves food security and ensure that the land is returned to those from whom it was taken under colonialism and apartheid. 

Government will undertake a process of consultation to determine the modalities of the implementation of this resolution. 

We make a special call to financial institutions to be our partners in mobilising resources to accelerate the land redistribution programme as increased investment will be needed in this sector. 

Tourism is another area which provides our country with incredible opportunities to, quite literally, shine. 

Tourism currently sustains 700,000 direct jobs and is performing better than most other growth sectors. 

There is no reason why it can’t double in size. 

We have the most beautiful country in the world and the most hospitable people. 

This year, we will enhance support for destination marketing in key tourism markets and take further measures to reduce regulatory barriers and develop emerging tourism businesses. 

We call on all South Africans to open their homes and their hearts to the world. 

Our prosperity as a nation depends on our ability to take full advantage rapid technological change. 

This means that we urgently need to develop our capabilities in the areas of science, technology and innovation. 

We will soon establish a Digital Industrial Revolution Commission, which will include the private sector and civil society, to ensure that our country is in a position to seize the opportunities and manage the challenges of rapid advances in information and communication technology. 

The drive towards the digital industrial revolution will be underpinned by the availability of efficient networks. 

We will finalise our engagements with the telecommunications industry and other stakeholders to ensure that the allocation of spectrum reduces barriers to entry, promotes competition and reduces the cost to consumers. 

South Africa has acceded to the Tripartite Free Trade Area agreement, which brings together SADC, COMESA and the East African Community. 

The free trade area will combine markets of 26 countries with a population of nearly 625 million. 

It will open market access opportunities for South African export products, contribute to job creation and the growth of South Africa’s industrial sector. 

Negotiations towards the Continental Free Trade Agreement are progressing at a brisk pace, and it is expected that the framework agreement could be concluded soon. 

South Africa will this year take over the chair of the BRICS group of countries, and will give priority to the promotion of value-added trade and intra-BRICS investment into productive sectors. 

Fellow South Africans, 

On the 1st of May this year, we will introduce the first national minimum wage in South Africa. 

This historic achievement – a realisation of one of the demands of the Freedom Charter – is expected to increase the earnings of more than six million working South Africans and improve the living conditions of households across the country. 

The introduction of a national minimum wage was made possible by the determination of all social partners to reduce wage inequality while maintaining economic growth and employment creation. 

It stands as another example of what is possible when South Africans engage in meaningful dialogue to resolve differences and confront challenges. 

To ensure greater coherence and consistency in the implementation of economic policy – and to ensure that we are better equipped to respond to changing economic circumstances – I will be appointing a Presidential Economic Advisory Council. 

It will draw on the expertise and capabilities that reside in labour, business, civil society and academia. 

The country remains gripped by one of the most devastating droughts in a century, which has severely impacted our economy, social services and agricultural production. 

The drought situation in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape has been elevated to a national state of disaster.

This gives national government the authority to manage and coordinate our response nationally with support from all provinces. 

This will ensure that we also heighten integrated measures to support the provinces that are hardest hit. 

We are looking at activating the necessary extraordinary measures permitted under the legislation. 

I commend the people of Cape Town and the rest of the Western Cape for diligently observing water saving measures. 

We call on everyone in the country to use water sparingly as we are a water-scarce country that relies on this vital resource to realise our development aspirations. 

Honourable Members, 

On 16 December last year, former President Jacob Zuma announced that government would be phasing in fully subsidised free higher education and training for poor and working class South Africans over a five-year period. 

Starting this year, free higher education and training will be available to first year students from households with a gross combined annual income of up to R350,000. 

The Minister of Higher Education and Training will lead the implementation of this policy, while the Minister of Finance will clarify all aspects of the financing of the scheme during his Budget Speech next week. 

In addition to promoting social justice, an investment of this scale in higher education is expected to contribute to greater economic growth, reduce poverty, reduce inequality, enhance earnings and increase the competitiveness of our economy. 

Government will continue to invest in expanding access to quality basic education and improving the outcomes of our public schools. 

The Funza Lushaka Bursary programme plans to award 39,500 bursaries for Initial Teacher Education over the next three years. 

In an historic first, from the beginning of this year, all public schools have begun offering an African language. 

Also significant is the implementation of the first National Senior Certificate examination on South African Sign Language, which will be offered to deaf learners at the end of 2018. 

The Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative programme continues to deliver modern facilities to schools in rural and underprivileged urban areas across the country, with at least 187 schools being complete to date. 

The programme will complete all outstanding projects by the end of the next financial year. 

Social grants remain a vital lifeline for millions of our people living in poverty. 

We will urgently take decisive steps to comply with the all directions of the Constitutional Court. 

I want to personally allay fears of any disruption to the efficient delivery of this critical service, and will take action to ensure no person in government is undermining implementation deadlines set by the court. 

We will finalise work on a permanent public sector-led hybrid model, which will allow a set of public and private sector service providers to offer beneficiaries maximum choice, access and convenience. 

This year, we will take the next critical steps to eliminate HIV from our midst. 

By scaling up our testing and treating campaign, we will initiate an additional two million people on antiretroviral treatment by December 2020. 

We will also need to confront lifestyles diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancers and cardiovascular diseases. 

In the next three months we will launch a huge cancer campaign similar to the HIV counselling and testing campaign. 

This will also involve the private sector as we need to mobilise all resources to fight this disease. 

The time has now arrived to finally implement universal health coverage through the National Health Insurance. 

The NHI Bill is now ready to be processed through government and will be submitted to Parliament in the next few weeks. 

Certain NHI projects targeting the most vulnerable people in society will commence in April this year. 

In improving the quality of life of all South Africans, we must intensify our efforts to tackle crime and build safer communities. 

During the course of this year, the Community Policing Strategy will be implemented, with the aim of gaining the trust of the community and to secure their full involvement in the fight against crime. 

The introduction of a Youth Crime Prevention Strategy will empower and support young people to be self-sufficient and become involved in crime fighting initiatives. 

A key focus this year will be the distribution of resources to police station level. 

This will include personnel and other resources, to restore capacity and experience at the level at which crime is most effectively combated. 

In recognising the critical role that NGOs and community-based organisation play in tackling poverty, inequality and related social problems, we will convene a Social Sector Summit during the course of this year. 

Among other things, this Summit should seek to improve the interface between the state and civil society and address the challenges that NGOs and CBOs face. 

Fellow South Africans, 

Growth, development and transformation depend on a strong and capable state. 

It is critical that the structure and size of the state is optimally suited to meet the needs of the people and ensure the most efficient allocation of public resources. 

We will therefore initiate a process to review the configuration, number and size of national government departments. 

Many of our state owned enterprises are experiencing severe financial, operation and governance challenges, which has impacted on the performance of the economy and placed pressure on the fiscus. 

We will intervene decisively to stabilise and revitalise state owned enterprises. 

The recent action we have taken at Eskom to strengthen governance, root out corruption and restore its financial position is just the beginning. 

Government will take further measures to ensure that all state owned companies fulfil their economic and developmental mandates. 

We will need to confront the reality that the challenges at some of our SOEs are structural – that they do not have a sufficient revenue stream to fund their operational costs. 

These SOEs cannot borrow their way out of their financial difficulties, and we will therefore undertake a process of consultation with all stakeholders to review the funding model of SOEs and other measures. 

We will change the way that boards are appointed so that only people with expertise, experience and integrity serve in these vital positions. 

We will remove board members from any role in procurement and work with the Auditor-General to strengthen external audit processes. 

As we address challenges in specific companies, work will continue on the broad architecture of the state owned enterprises sector to achieve better coordination, oversight and sustainability. 

This is the year in which we will turn the tide of corruption in our public institutions. 

The criminal justice institutions have been taking initiatives that will enable us to deal effectively with corruption. 

The commission of inquiry into state capture headed by the Deputy Chief Justice, Judge Raymond Zondo, is expected to commence its work shortly. 

The Commission is critical to ensuring that the extent and nature of state capture is established, that confidence in public institutions is restored and that those responsible for any wrongdoing are identified. 

The Commission should not displace the regular work of the country’s law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting any and all acts of corruption. 

Amasela aba imali ka Rhilumente mawabanjwe. 

We must fight corruption, fraud and collusion in the private sector with the same purpose and intensity. 

We must remember that every time someone receives a bribe there is someone who is prepared to pay it. 

We will make sure that we deal with both in an effective manner. 

We urge professional bodies and regulatory authorities to take action against members who are found to have acted improperly and unethically. 

This requires that we strengthen law enforcement institutions and that we shield them from external interference or manipulation. 

We will urgently attend to the leadership issues at the National Prosecuting Authority to ensure that this critical institution is stabilised and able to perform its mandate unhindered. 

We will also take steps to stabilise and strengthen vital institutions like the South African Revenue Service. 

We must understand that tax morality is dependent on an implicit contract between taxpayers and government that state spending provides value for money and is free from corruption. 

At the request of the Minister of Finance, I will shortly appoint a Commission of Inquiry into Tax Administration and Governance of SARS, to ensure that we restore the credibility of the Service and strengthen its capacity to meet its revenue targets. 

Our state employs one million public servants. 

The majority of them serve our people with diligence and commitment. 

We applaud them for the excellent work they do. 

However, we know the challenges that our people face when they interact with the state. 

In too many cases, they often get poor service or no service at all. 

We want our public servants to adhere to the principle of Batho Pele, of putting our people first. 

We are determined that everyone in public service should undertake their responsibilities with efficiency, diligence and integrity. 

We want to instil a new discipline, to do things correctly, to do them completely and to do them timeously. 

We call on all public servants to become agents for change. 

During the course of the next few months, I will visit every national department to engage with the senior leadership to ensure that the work of government is effectively aligned. 

I will also find time to meet with provincial and local government leaders to ensure that the state, in its entirety, responds to the pressing needs of our people.  

Fellow South Africans, 

Our country has entered a period of change. 

While change can produce uncertainty, even anxiety, it also offers great opportunities for renewal and revitalisation, and for progress. 

Together we are going to make history. 

We have done it before and we will do it again – bonded by our common love for our country, resolute in our determination to overcome the challenges that lie ahead and convinced that by working together we will build the fair and just and decent society to which Nelson Mandela dedicated his life. 

As I conclude, allow me to recall the words of the late great Bra Hugh Masekela. 

In his song, ‘Thuma Mina’, he anticipated a day of renewal, of new beginnings. 

He sang: 

“I wanna be there when the people start to turn it around
When they triumph over poverty
I wanna be there when the people win the battle against AIDS
I wanna lend a hand
I wanna be there for the alcoholic
I wanna be there for the drug addict
I wanna be there for the victims of violence and abuse
I wanna lend a hand
Send me.” 

We are at a moment in the history of our nation when the people, through their determination, have started to turn the country around. 

We can envisage the triumph over poverty, we can see the end of the battle against AIDS. 

Now is the time to lend a hand. 

Now is the time for each of us to say ‘send me’. 

Now is the time for all of us to work together, in honour of Nelson Mandela, to build a new, better South Africa for all. 

I thank you.

16 February 2018 - 12:00am

Nairobi - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has today, Monday 01 June 2015 concluded his visit to Nairobi, Kenya and is currently leading a delegation of Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) (Former Detainees) on a journey back home to Juba as part of regional efforts to restore peace and stability in South Sudan and to end the war. The Five SPLM Former Detainees were in Nairobi since December 2013.

Deputy President Ramaphosa jointly with Abdurahman  Kinana, the Secretary-General of Tanzania’s ruling party visited Nairobi, Kenya from Sunday 31 May 2015 in their capacity as Co-Guarantors of the SPLM Reunification Agreement. During the visit to Kenya, Deputy President Ramaphosa paid a courtesy call on Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, attended Kenya’s National Day celebrations and held a meeting with SPLM (Former Detainees).

On arrival in Juba, later today Monday 01 June 2015, Deputy President Ramaphosa is expected to pay a courtesy call on South Sudanese President Salva Kirr and hold meetings with members of the SPLM Politburo.

The visit to South Sudan by Deputy President Ramaphosa comes against the background of regional efforts aimed at cementing lasting peace in South Sudan and consolidating gains made with the signing of the Reunification Agreement in Arusha, Tanzania early this year.

The Reunification Agreement was signed by the various factions of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) and is aimed at addressing political, organisational and leadership issues, the source of political crisis in the SPLM and conflict in South Sudan.

The visit to South Sudan is a result of decisions of a meeting held in Pretoria in April this year, hosted by Deputy President Ramaphosa with representatives of SPLM (Juba) and SPLM (Former Detainees), in which consensus was reached on how best to strengthen and implement the Reunification Agreement. The meeting also impressed upon all SPLM factions present to remain focussed on the reunification of the SPLM as a means to unite South Sudan and end the war.

Deputy President Ramaphosa is expected to return to South Africa tomorrow, Tuesday 2 June 2015.

Enquiries: Ronnie Mamoepa at 082 990 4853

Issued by: The Presidency

Pretoria

Juba - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has today, Monday 01 June 2015 arrived in Juba South Sudan from Nairobi, Kenya as part of ongoing regional efforts to facilitate peace and stability in South Sudan and to end the war.

Deputy President Ramaphosa, jointly with Abdurahman Kinana, the Secretary-General of Tanzania’s ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi, is leading a delegation of Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) -Former Detainees back home after an absence from December 2013.

During his visit to Juba, Deputy President Ramaphosa is expected among others to pay a courtesy call on South Sudanese President Salva Kirr and hold meetings with members of the SPLM Politburo.

The visit to South Sudan by Deputy President Ramaphosa comes against the background of regional efforts aimed at cementing lasting peace in South Sudan and consolidating gains made with the signing of the Reunification Agreement in Arusha, Tanzania early this year.

The Reunification Agreement was signed by the various factions of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) and is aimed at addressing political, organisational and leadership issues, the source of political crisis in the SPLM and conflict in South Sudan.

The visit to South Sudan is a result of decisions of a meeting held in Pretoria in April this year, hosted by Deputy President Ramaphosa with representatives of SPLM (Juba) and SPLM (Former Detainees), in which consensus was reached on how best to strengthen and implement the Reunification Agreement.

The meeting also impressed upon all SPLM factions present to remain focussed on the reunification of the SPLM as a means to unite South Sudan and end the war.

Deputy President Ramaphosa is expected to return to South Africa tomorrow, Tuesday 2 June 2015

For more information contact Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853.

Issued by: The Presidency

Pretoria

Boksburg - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Congress on Thursday 4 June 2015 at the Birchwood Hotel, Boksburg, Gauteng Province.

Media are invited as follows:

Time: 12h00

Venue: Birchwood Hotel, Boksburg

Date: 04 June 2015

Enquiries: Ronnie Mamoepa 082 990 4853

Issued by: The Presidency

Pretoria

Juba, South Sudan – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has today, Wednesday 3 June 2015, concluded a three-day working visit to Kenya and South Sudan during which he hailed steps taken to reunite the ruling party Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) South Sudan   and to end the war in this country.

Deputy President Ramaphosa departed from Juba, South Sudan, earlier today following a visit to Juba during which five Nairobi-based members of the Former Detainees group of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) returned to their home country for the first time since December 2013.

The group has been based in Nairobi since December 2013 when divisions within South Sudan’s ruling party gave rise to war within the country.

On the mission to Juba, Deputy President Ramaphosa was accompanied by Mr Abdulrahman Kinana, Secretary-General of Tanzania’s ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, and the Foreign Ministers of Kenya and Ethiopia. CCM and the African National Congress are co-guarantors of efforts to reunite and rebuild the ruling party of South Sudan.

During the Juba visit, Deputy President Ramaphosa held discussions with President Salva Kiir of South Sudan, co-guarantors of the peace process and the returning SPLM – Former Detainees group. This group also held separate discussions with structures of the SPLM in government in Juba.

At a dinner hosted on Tuesday, 2 June 2015, in honour of the visiting delegation including the returning Former Detainees, Deputy President Ramaphosa said the mission to Juba wanted to ensure that “peace reigns and the guns of war are silenced once and for all”.

The Deputy President said the return by Former Detainees for discussions with their SPLM colleagues had been a “most historic occasion to welcome back your own comrades into South Sudan”. He said reconciliation based on peace and the rebuilding of South Sudan and the SPLM was within reach.

“The historical task of revolutionaries is not to continue a war that is senseless and useless; the historic task is to seek peace and instill it in the hearts of our people. Let bygones be bygones; let anger and grievance (take a back seat) in our search for peace,” Deputy President Ramaphosa urged. He assured the people of South Sudan that South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda would remain at their side in their quest for peace.

The visit to South Sudan by Deputy President Ramaphosa came against the background of regional efforts aimed at cementing lasting peace in South Sudan and consolidating gains made with the signing of the Reunification Agreement in Arusha, Tanzania early this year.

The Reunification Agreement was signed by the various factions of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) and is aimed at addressing political, organisational and leadership issues, the source of political crisis in the SPLM and conflict in South Sudan.

On Monday, 1 June, 2015, Deputy President Ramaphosa paid a courtesy call on Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, attended Kenya’s Madaraka (Independence) Day celebrations and held a meeting with SPLM (Former Detainees).

On Wednesday, 3 June, 2015, Deputy President Ramaphosa held discussions with South Sudan Vice-President Wani Igga, who, upon Mr Ramaphosa’s departure from Juba Airport, said the visit had signaled “a new chapter” in the South Sudan peace process. Before his departure, Deputy President Ramaphosa also met with Kenyan Foreign Minister Ms Amina Mohamed.

For more information contact Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853.

Issued by: The Presidency

Pretoria

A planned visit by Deputy President and members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Energy to Eskom’s Lethabo power station in the Free State has been postponed.

The visit was originally scheduled for tomorrow, Friday 5 June 2015. A new date will be announced in due course and will form part of government’s winter campaign on energy saving that will be launched soon.

A number of Ministers who were due to be part of the Lethabo visit are currently participating in the World Economic Forum on Africa, and the Deputy President wishes to ensure that as many members as possible of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Energy are available to visit Lethabo.

Members of the media will be updated on the new date as soon as arrangements are finalised.

Enquiries: Ronnie Mamoepa 082 990 4853

Issued by: The Presidency

Pretoria