THE RAMAPHOSA PRESIDENCY: A LEGACY OF BROKEN PROMISES AND BETRAYAL
By Nhlamulo Ndhlela
MKP National Spokesperson
As we reflect on the events of 2024, the MK Party takes stock of the state of our nation under Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidency.
Despite promises of a “New Dawn”, South Africans continue to endure worsening hardships, deepened by his administration’s failure to deliver on its commitments.
2024 marks yet another year defined by unrelenting challenges, including the ongoing electricity crisis.
While Minister of Electricity Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has celebrated a recent reprieve in load shedding—the longest period without power cuts in five years—he himself cautioned that South Africa is “not out of the woods yet.”
The Energy Availability Factor (EAF) has improved to 62.55%, with promises to increase it to 70% in the next financial year.
However, the sustainability of this progress remains uncertain, as systemic issues like infrastructure maintenance, municipal failures, and outdated grids persist.
As the MK Party, we acknowledge the temporary relief in load shedding, however, we are reminded by Minister Ramokgopa’s words that systemic failures remain as evident in the consistent five hour load reduction every Wednedsday suffered by our people in the townships whilst suburbs remain unaffected.
South Africans deserve more than hollow victories; they deserve sustainable, transformative change.
Ramaphosa’s dithering and indecisiveness has further betrayed the aspirations of the overwhelming majority of the people of South Africa.
While we note that he eventually mustered the courage to sign the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, it is unacceptable that such a critical piece of legislation, designed to improve governance and language equity in schools, faced unnecessary delays.
Similarly, the Employment Equity (EE) Act amendments, passed by Parliament to promote workplace transformation, remain unpromulgated.
This neglect reveals a leader who prioritises the comfort of those clinging to privilege over the urgent need to uplift the African majority.
By failing to act decisively, Ramaphosa has shown his true colours: a president more concerned with appeasing racist interests in order to avoid impeachment than addressing the plight of the marginalized.
Our economy remains stagnant, with unemployment at devastating levels.
The gross unemployment rate is sitting at more than 42% meaning 9.2 million of our people are jobless and over 60% of our youth see no future under this government.
Ramaphosa’s lack of decisive action to revive our industries, secure our mining sector, or support local manufacturing has left the country in an economic quagmire.
His policies have favoured a privileged few while leaving the majority to sufferCorruption continues to corrode the fabric of our public institutions.
Despite his pretence of championing anti-corruption initiatives, Ramaphosa’s credibility has been irreparably damaged by the unresolved Phala Phala scandal.
State-owned enterprises like Eskom, Denel, and Transnet remain in ruin, with billions lost to mismanagement and looting under his watch, while ordinary South Africans face service delivery failures in municipalities that cannot even guarantee clean water or functioning sanitation.
In his State of the Nation Address Ramaphosa referred to a “Tintswalo”, yet today many innocent “Tintswalo’s” have lost their lives.
This is due to a government that failed to regulate Spaza Shops that sold poisonous food to children, who painfully lost their lives in the townships.
Violent crime and gender-based violence have soared under Ramaphosa’s watch, and communities feel abandoned by a largely dysfunctional police service.
South Africa’s murder rate has reached new highs, and Mr. Ramaphosa together with his coalition partners have failed to provide the leadership necessary to tackle these crises.
Inequality, the most glaring scar of apartheid, remains unaddressed and has worsened to more than during apartheid days.
Land reform has stalled, leaving millions of South Africans without access to the land and resources needed for a dignified life.
Access to water, which is a right as enshrined in the Constitution, remains a privilege of the rich minority due to the commercialisation of this natural resource.
Ramaphosa and the Tshwane coalition’s failure to meet the December 31, 2024 deadlinebeing today, for the people of Hamanskraal to have access to clean drinkable water, is a further confirmation of his betrayal towards our people.
The people of Makhanda also suffer the same broken promises and betrayal. The promises of transformation have been replaced by policies designed to placate the powerful, while ignoring the suffering of the masses.
Ramaphosa’s presidency has indeed been a litany of delays, betrayals, and broken promises.
The MK Party will ensure that 2025 will be the year that South Africans rise to reclaim their power.
We stand ready to lead the charge for a government that prioritises its citizens and delivers on the promises of
freedom, justice, and prosperity for all.
A happy and prosperous new year will continue to remain a wish and a dream for South Africans under the current government, but such true happiness and prosperity can only be realised when the MK Party is in government and finally delivers the ultimate genuine liberation of our people.