LISTEN: Economy is in deep crisis - Maimane
DA leader, Mmusi Maimane says Thursday’s State of the Nation Address has to focus on job creation.
The official opposition briefed the media in Cape Town on Wednesday on its expectations ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech in the National Assembly.
It will be President Ramaphosa’s first State of the Nation Address since the African National Congress (ANC) was returned to power during the May 8 general elections.
The address comes amid the shock 3.2% contraction suffered by the economy in the first quarter, the biggest quarter-on-quarter dip in a decade.
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Maimane says Thursday evening cannot be business as usual.
“Talk is not going to cut it, we need reform. We need deliberate and intentional reforms to get South Africa’s economy to head in the right direction.
“We need to make the tough decisions tomorrow. These are decisions on state-owned enterprises. These are decisions on how we keep our citizens safe, these are the decisions on what type of education we provide for our people. And this is about focusing on the future of our country.”
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“We fail to put those tomorrow, I don’t want to put a more finer point than saying that our economy is in deep, deep crisis.”
