COVID-19 battle, job creation top ANC wish-list ahead of State of the Nation Address
African National Congress (ANC) chief whip Pemmy Majodina
admits there is a range of very serious issues facing the country ahead of
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address this evening.
Top of the president’s inbox will be the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and the delayed rollout of a vaccine.
“We expect the president to say how are we going to put up a fight to defeat Covid-19, and what is the role of business and the private sector in terms of producing our own vaccine in the country.
“Producing that vaccine will also impact on job creation as well as the economic recovery and job creation plan.”
President Ramaphosa has put a lot of emphasis on government’s infrastructure build and re-industrialisation plans to reignite economic growth.
Majodina says the ANC expects the president to share concrete job creation numbers with South Africans.
“We want to hear the president saying how many jobs we have created. Job-seekers are looking forward to hearing how their lives are going to change.”
The time has also come for law enforcement to act against those who have stolen from the state, Majodina says.
President Ramaphosa is under pressure to make good on his promises to clean up the state and end the rot that set in under the previous administration.
“Anyone who has been involved in corruption must be arrested and prosecuted. But it must not end there. We expect the money to be paid back to the state, their assets must be taken over by the state because they have robbed the poor,” she says.
“Across the board, even those who have stolen the money of the PPEs, we are saying they must be brought to book.”
