South Africa: Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his State of the Nation address

Text by: RFI Follow

President Cyril Ramaphosa bowed to his great annual oral. He delivered his State of the Nation address to Parliament in Cape Town on Thursday, February 13. He, who had promised a "new dawn" for the country, after succeeding Jacob Zuma at the head of the ANC two years ago, now finds himself faced with a complicated economic situation.

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With our correspondent in Johannesburg , Claire Bargelès

Members of the Opposition Party for Economic Freedom (EFF) party wanted to make him understand that the honeymoon was over by heckling the session as they did under Jacob Zuma , demanding the resignation of the Minister of Public Enterprise and the departure from the hemicycle of former President Frederik de Klerk.

Cyril Ramaphosa had to wait for the departure of the EFF deputies after a suspension of the session in order to be able to express himself calmly. He quickly addressed the point that citizens and investors were most looking forward to: the end of the electricity production monopoly of the public company Eskom .

“ We are taking steps to increase production capacity outside Eskom, using renewable energy, natural gas, hydro, batteries, and coal. We will also allow municipalities to obtain their own electricity from independent producers . "

Without veiling his face, the president acknowledged that the economic results were not there, with unemployment just below 30%. Cyril Ramaphosa intends to target young people as a priority, by dedicating a 5-year plan to them.

The head of state also wanted to highlight positive news, such as the construction of a smart city, or the liberalization of the hemp and medical cannabis trade. He also announced the creation of new financial tools.

“ We have decided to create a sovereign fund, in order to preserve and make the wealth of our nation grow. And we will also set up a state bank, to allow all South Africans to have access to financial services. "

These announcements will be further detailed in two weeks by the Minister of Finance, who is expected to present his budget to this same Parliament.

The State of the Nation # SONA2020 https://t.co/ckrnzvO5QK

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• South Africa
• Cyril Ramaphosa

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