Madam Speaker, His Excellency, the President of South Africa, hon. members, distinguished guests and fellow South Africans, I greet you all. Hon Speaker, whilst the NFP supports the President in many initiatives outlined in the state of the nation address and believes that many of these initiatives can be achieved, if he could be more practical than being theoretical. However, the NFP is concerned that you have failed Mr President to highlight the struggle of many working class citizens in South Africa. The commuters continue to struggle daily as trains are cancelled and delayed because of the incapacity of Prasa. When you go to Soweto, KwaMashu, Kwa- Langa, you will see that people ...
IsiZulu:
... abakwazi ukufika emsebenzini ngesikhathi uPrasa izitimela zakhe zifa njalo ...
English:
...then you are failing our people. Before we can implement the bullet train dream Mr President, we need to pay vital attention to the current systems that are in place. We also agree with the reconfiguration of Eskom and the appointment of the chief structuring officer. We also further support the R230 billion that is to be given to assist Eskom.
Transformation in the education sector is correct to align education with the demand of the fourth industrial revolution by introducing coding and robotic related subjects at school level The R3.9 billion plan for black commercial farmers is commended however; the contribution that the Land and Agriculture Bank of South Africa wants from the applicant must be abolished because it prevents black people from accessing the allocated funds.
Rural development remains sidelined and marginalized. We have many citizens flocking to the cities for employment only to be disappointed, for our cities are unable to accommodate and meet the demand. Much of our people are still sleeping in empty stomachs and we are making our people to beg in the land of
their forefathers. The 55.2% youth unemployment rate must be top of our agenda. We cannot ignore that a large percentage of our young people are available to work and have taken active steps to find jobs but they cannot find employment. This is indeed a national crisis. Our people are being turned to a new society where they are being made paras (thugs). In fact, we are being foreign to our land because of how our people are treated. The proposed two million jobs are not enough although we note that it is a realistic projection given the economic condition. We believe more support for those young aspiring business men and women can add value in increasing that two million figure.
Mr President, whilst the NFP commends your hopeful spirit, we need to emphasize that radical plans need radical implementation; the time for lip service is over. Thank you