Die Staatspresident, Cyril Ramaphosa, het verlede week sy lang verwagte staatsrede in die Kaapstadse stadsaal gelewer, en oudergewoonte het politici en ekonome hul sê hieroor te sê gehad.
Hier gee ’n paar plaaslike Paarlse stemme hul mening hieroor:
conrad poole, die drakenstein-burgemeester:
Ek dink President Cyril Ramaphosa het ’n goeie Staatsrede gelewer, soos al die vorige jare, en gesê wat elke redelike Suid-Afrikaner wil hoor.
Wat ek egter gevoel het kort, is terugvoer oor hoe die Nasionale Ontwikkelingsplan (NOP) uitgerol word, met resultate. Ek verwelkom wel dat die regering – soos die Drakenstein-munisipaliteit – ernstig is oor die heropbou van die ekonomie. ek verwelkom ook dat ’n herstelplan bestaan, wat fokus op die uitrol van infrastruktuur oor Suid-Afrika heen, ’n aansienlike verhoging in plaaslike vervaardiging, die stimulering van werkskepping en die vinnige uitbreiding van ons vermoë om energie te skep.
Voeg daarby die ondersteuningsplanne om mense en sakeondernemings te help wat onder die impak van Covid-19 ly, fokus op die stryd teen geslagsgebaseerde geweld, groter klem op die stryd teen korrupsie en planne om die behuisingsprobleem op te los – dán kry ’n mens hoop. President Ramaphosa se groot uitdaging gaan egter wees om die hele kabinet aan sy kant te kry en om hulle te oortuig om hul ideologiese en ander verskille te oorkom sodat hulle almal in een rigting trek.
Dit gaan veral interessant wees om te sien hoe hy optree teen diegene wat volgens die Zondo-kommissie se verslag by korrupsie betrek word. Dan moet hy ook die regte mense in die regte posisies plaas sodat sy planne nie net lugkastele bly nie. Op Engels sê hulle mos: “Action speaks louder than words.”
anc chairperson for drakenstein moutie richards:
The Drakenstein sub-region of the ANC wants to commend our President for arguably one of the best State of the Nation addresses in years, this after excruciatingly difficult circumstances, such as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, July 2021 riots, harrowing Zondo commission findings, rising unemployment figures, efforts to sabotage the democratic state, and a fire symbolically aimed at the heart of his parliamentary headquarters.
Given the peculiar problems of Drakenstein namely farmworker evictions, lack of housing and basic amenities for the majority, destruction of agricultural land for high-income development, chronic youth unemployment, gender-based and gang-related violence, among others, we welcome his emphasis on the following:
. Extension of the R350 social relief of distress grant.
. A clear vaccination plan.
. His commitment to fight state capture.
. He is the first president to speak openly about energy alternatives and breaking eskom’s monopoly on electricity: “renewable energy will make electricity cheaper and more dependable.”
. He dealt decidedly with the issue of job creation: business is there to create jobs; not government!
. The businesspeople should be happy to learn that his government is cutting red tape to help small businesses grow. together with the call to buy local to support local businesses, Drakenstein businesses should embrace and act out our president’s directives.
. The President takes safety and security to heart by recruiting an additional 12 000 new policewomen and men.
andré fourie, die drakensteinse leier van die vf plus:
Nóg beloftes, Nóg leë woorde, raamwerke en taakspanne. Dit is die oplossing wat President Cyril Ramaphosa as oplossing gebied het vir ’n land wat kritiek in die waaksaal lê.
Daar kan geen twyfel meer wees dat die president die ANC en sy beleid bo Suid-Afrika en sy mense stel nie. Hy was nie bereid om ’n enkele ongewilde besluit te neem soos die beëindiging van kaderontplooiing om die ekonomie op die herstelpad te plaas nie.
brett heron, secretary-general of the good party:
We welcome the extension of the social relief of distress grant. It’s a nudge in the right direction.
The greatest weakness of the President’s speech was its failure to address one of our country’s most critical weaknesses wholly, the culture of impunity.
The President would have sent a very strong signal about ending the culture of impunity and tackling criminality and corruption, had he announced that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) would be strengthened with the financial resources and skills urgently needed to bring the criminal network that captured the state swiftly to justice.
The volume and complexity of the criminal cases are overwhelming.
As the president said, the SIU report, alone, resulted in 386 cases being referred to the NPA for prosecuting.
Without the resources and skills the NPA will never prosecute the volume of cases, loaded with complexity, in our lifetime – and without these prosecutions our hope will erode further and the culture of impunity will become entrenched.
