BLOEMFONTEIN – President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a wide-ranging Freedom Day address Bloemfontein on Monday, framing the nation progress over 32 years as foundational but insufficient, while laying out an ambitious agenda for the newly constituted Government of National Unity (GNU).
Speaking at the national celebrations, the President stated that Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policies had successfully expanded economic participation but now required strengthening to be “more effective and more efficient.”
“The progress we have made is evident in improvements in the income and quality of life of African, coloured and Indian South Africans and the gradual reduction in inequality between races,” Ramaphosa said. “But this is not enough. there is much more that needs to be done.
The speech presented dual vision for advancing freedom: deepening economic transformation and ensuring public safety.
Ramaphosa directly linked dignity to security, stating, “Dignity means that people must be able to live free from fear and violence.”
He pledged continued resources to tackle organised crime, gangsterism, and gender-based violence, alongside reforming the criminal justice system and rooting out corruption.
“We are building a police service and a prosecuting authority in which people can have trust and confidence,” he said.
Ramaphosa called on the nation to “renew and reaffirm” the social contract of 1994, describing it as a “solemn agreement” demanding active citizenship and a capable state.
He positioned the GNU as the vehicle to deliver on this, with priorities of inclusive growth, job creation, poverty reduction, and building a developmental state.
He directly addressed the service delivery crises plaguing municipalities. “Failing water infrastructure, collapsing municipalities and deteriorating services are not mere inconveniences,” he stated. “They constrain the growth of businesses and the creation of jobs.”
He promised a resolve to transform local government.
The President reiterated the economic plan from the 2026 State of the Nation Address, anchored in infrastructure investment, fixing Eskom and Transnet, and growing key job-creating industries.
In one of the speech’s most pointed moments, Ramaphosa turned to gender-based violence, recalling his words at the 2023 Free State Men’s Indaba:
“South Africa does not need a so-called new generation of men. It needs the men and boys of this generation to do better… Men of South Africa must stand up and be counted, and say: Not in our Name.”
He labelled this the challenge for men on this Freedom Day.
Striking a diplomatic and moral tone, Ramaphosa powerfully recalled the solidarity of other African nations during the liberation struggle.
“It cannot be, and it must never be, that we trample into the dust the African fellowship that made our freedom possible,” he urged.
While acknowledging “legitimate concerns” about illegal migration, he warned strongly against xenophobia.
“We must not allow these concerns to give rise to prejudice,” he said, emphasising enforcement of laws.
He outlined actions to clamp down on illegal migration and corruption in the immigration system, and condemned vigilante action.
Throughout the address, accountability was a recurring theme. “Every rand stolen is an attack on our democracy.
Every project that is not completed is a betrayal of a community,” Ramaphosa declared, vowing not to rest until those who hollowed out state institutions were held to account.
Concluding, he returned to the Constitution’s promise, stating, “Advancing human dignity is the promise of our Constitution and the fundamental value from which all other human rights flow.”
He positioned the government entire agenda as being in pursuit of this fundamental goal.
Discover more from Lephalale Express
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Be First to Comment