SONA2026: Some Bold and Meaningful Interventions but the Poor Still Need More Direct Help

GOOD Statement by Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General:

Our constitutional promise, the economy and poverty:

Thirty years ago, in 1996, our country adopted a Constitution that created the structures and values of our democracy. Our Constitution also entrenched the rights of all who live in South Africa to a life of dignity supported by a state mandated to provide services and to meet the most basic human needs such as health, education, water, housing and financial support.

Our Constitution is both a promise of a just and equitable society and an obligation on our government to ensure that those rights are progressively attained.

We must measure the state of our nation against the promise of an our constitution.

The President was right to acknowledge that according to many economic indicators our country is showing signs of recovery. These green shoots are confirmation that our government of national unity is making progress in its diversity and that a diversity of executive leadership is perhaps one of our greatest strengths.

But these green shoots have not changed the lives of those stuck in unemployment, living with severe hunger, and unhoused.

Our new economic growth plan, GAIN (Growth and Inclusion Plan), needs to deliver at least 5% economic growth per annum for a sustained period of time if we are to meaningfully reduce unemployment and lift them out of poverty.

While our economy wallows in poor growth that is not creating jobs there is a duty on our government to ensure that those unable to find work, and thus unable to meet their most basic needs, receive state support in the form of basic income that at least meets the lower bound poverty line.

The President’s commitment to the continuation of SRD grant, with some changes, is noted. If this basic income is to meet the constitutional threshold it will require the complete overhaul of our social security system including the SRD (social relief of distress grant) which, at R370 per month, is insufficient to meet half the nutrition needs of an adult.

Hunger:

While the President acknowledged the hunger crisis, and made a welcome commitment to address child malnutrition and stunting, he did not provide any indication that our government will address hunger through a basic income and/or a national food programme.

This is unfortunate since the GNU leaders’ breakaway, hosted by the President, identified addressing hunger as a priority in its concluding statement.

It is also unfortunate because it is reported that nearly 18 million South Africans are food insecure while about half of them are severely food insecure: hungry and starving. Food relief cannot be outsourced to ad hoc charitable interventions by NGOs, community feeding schemes, or faith based organizations. There is a constitutional duty on the state to address hunger for all.

Violent crime – deployment of the military:

The President’s announcement to that the defence force will be deployed to support the police in the Western Cape and Gauteng to address gang violence and illegal mining responds directly to communities who have been crying out for an intervention of force.

The presence of the military will bring some comfort to communities ravaged by relentless violent crime.

The military has been deployed to support the police, to deal with gang violence in Cape Town, before.

While the presence of military forces brought some relief it is self-evidently not the solution, on its own, because we wouldn’t be redeploying the army if it had ended gang violence once and for all before.

There is a duty on our government to address the root causes of crime – the socioeconomic and built environment conditions – in order to bring lasting peace, security and dignity to communities who have been neglected and whose lived conditions create the conditions conducive to gangsterism and violent crime.

There is an obvious spatial apartheid connection between violent crime and where it’s most prevalent. Our government must address the broad question of spatial justice and access to housing too.

The military intervention will once again be a temporary measure that must be complimented with a Marshall plan of socioeconomic, housing, and built environment reforms.

Water crises:

The President’s intervention in the water crisis in our towns and cities, and in Johannesburg in particular, is welcomed. The government will have to move rapidly to ensure that municipalities have access to funding and technical support to build the infrastructure and maintain it since the water crisis is an immediate one.

A centralised water entity, the National Water Crisis Committee chaired by the President, is welcome as long as this entity will be where the buck stops – right at the door of the President.

Criminal justice reform:

We welcome the President’s commitment to reform our criminal justice system. We have a new NDPP,  Adv Andy Mothibi, and he and the National Prosecuting Authority must be empowered and resourced to be able to prosecute crime without fear or favour. Skilled prosecutors, with experience and training in public finance legislation and public procurement rules, will be essential to tackle corruption.

Education:

The President’s announcement of reform to our education system, in particular the skills training sector and the SETAs, is welcome. It is essential that skills levies, collected from employers, is deployed more efficiently to expand access to occupational skills and qualifications to unemployed youth and to provide qualifications opportunities to employees.

Conclusion:

The President’s SONA was upbeat and largely focused on the economy. Emboldened by the list of economic achievements he listed at the beginning of his speech. These are real achievements which will boost the mood of many in our country and encourage investors eyeing emerging markets. But, the people who rely entirely on the state to meet their basic human needs – the poor and excluded – would have heard little that will alleviate and ultimately stop their suffering. This was the biggest disappointment.

GOOD Manifesto on Civic Engagement: Encouraging active community participation in governance.

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