President Cyril Ramaphosa had the difficult task of giving a reply speech following two days of scrutiny and criticism over his SONA. The speech comes after the SONA debate that took place in the National Assembly, which gave opposition parties the platform to raise their concerns.

"But there are those in this House who, instead of being merchants of hope, have cast themselves as merchants of despair.
They have determined that their political fortunes are best served by depicting a country in chaos – instead of being parties that acknowledge the challenges and that are determined to work together to find solutions so that we leave no one behind.” - President Cyril Ramaphosa

Starting his reply, Ramaphosa expressed criticism towards the opposition, adding that  some choose to belittle the progress made, despite the difficult conditions.

Speaking on the new position of Minister of Electricity, Ramaphosa expressed that whilst opposition parties have raised concerns that such a position would cause confusion and wars among  the ministers who deal with energy and Eskom, that is not true.

Ramaphosa further reiterated the Minister of Electricity responsibility as being one that is focused day in and day out only on addressing the load shedding crisis, as well as working together with the board and management of Eskom and the board.

According to the President,  the new Minister will be leading the National Energy Crisis Committee and interacting with all other departments “in the spirit of cooperative governance”.

When speaking on David Mabuza’s resignation from the position of Deputy President, Ramaphosa thanked him for his services, adding that his request to step aside is being attended to.

With great opposition towards Ramaphosa’s address still looming, one will watch in anticipation to see how the state of politics plays out in our country.

Will opposition parties act on their words and call for President Ramaphosa’s removal?