Cutting of USAID to South Africa a wake-up call: Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the cutting of USAID to South Africa has been a wake-up call.

The president was speaking at the first day of nursing union Denosa’s 9th National Congress at Birchwood on Gauteng’s east rand.

A key discussion of the meeting is the aftermath of the cutting of HIV and AIDs funding by the US.

Speaking on the sidelines of the congress, Ramaphosa highlighted the need for South Africa to become more self-reliant.

“In many ways, it’s a wake-up call on our part as South Africans, that we’ve got to find ways of being self-reliant, of relying on our own resources and that is what our people expect, even within our fiscal constraints and challenges. So, this is a matter that we are discussing and our sovereignty is important and our sovereignty as a country should also mean that we must find ways all the time to look after the welfare of South Africans,” says Ramaphosa.

President Ramaphosa reacts to US foreign aid cuts, stresses sovereignty:

President Ramaphosa addressed nursing national congress: