President Cyril Ramaphosa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa who addressed the country for the first time as the Commander in Chief of the Government of National Unity (GNU) subjected himself to amnesia about conflict between Israel and Palestine despite that South Africa championed the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
His detractors didn’t mince their words to lambast him, saying that he doesn’t want to ruffle feathers of the Democratic Alliance because of the GNU deal by 10 opposition parties which might give birth to calamity should he speak about Israel and Palestine debacles because the ANC and DA share different views about the matter.
Ramaphosa, who leads the 7th administration on Thursday, promised to reduce the cost of living, including the addition of more basic food items to the list of those that are zero rated for VAT.
Known as “Buffalo Soldier”, urged GNU to emulate former President Nelson Mandela for his humility. He said his administration will zoom into enhancing economic growth geared to combat poverty and constructing a capable developmental state over the next five years.
“We have decided to place inclusive economic growth at the centre of the work of the government of national unity and at the top of the national agenda. The GNU will pursue every action that contributes to sustainable, rapid economic growth and remove every obstacle that stands in the way of growth,” the President said.
Ramaphosa also confirmed that the Cabinet Lekgotla held recently agreed upon a minimum programme that had identified its immediate priorities.
He also committed to maintaining the social grant system, which he said was essential in addressing poverty and hunger among the unemployed, and to the provision of job opportunities and skills to young people through the presidential stimulus programme.
Ramaphosa also said his administration will use infrastructure development to address both backlogs across sectors, including rail, roads, water and electricity, and to draw investment from the private sector for joint projects.
He also committed to address challenges faced by municipalities across the country, cementing that the municipalities must be turned around so that they could provide better services and enable economic growth.
GNU cabinet.
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