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FILE: President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his SONA 2025 speech
As President Cyril Ramaphosa prepares to deliver his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday, SABC News looks back at some of the promises he made during his 2025 speech.
There are some positive results for infrastructure funding and investment but there is a thirst for an end to the ongoing water shortages as the country faces multiple crises.
Water security and basic service delivery
President Ramaphosa promised the country during his 2025 speech a series of “decisive actions” aimed at resolving the water crisis facing large parts of the country.
“Many people in our cities, towns and villages are experiencing more and more frequent water shortages as a result of failing water infrastructure,” he said.
“We are therefore taking a series of decisive actions to resolve the water crisis, to enable our people to get water where they live, whether in townships or rural areas.”
He mentioned Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project as one solution, but the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation reported in November last year that this project meant to mitigate the country’s water shortages, especially in Gauteng, is delayed by over a decade, and that the cost has ballooned to over R50 billion, from the initial R8 billion estimate when the project began in 2008.
Infrastructure investment and financing
President Ramaphosa promised to unlock investments of R100 billion for infrastructure as a tool to grow the economy. He achieved this goal by October last year when the European Union announced an investment of R230 billion to help South Africa transition into renewable energy infrastructure.
Ramaphosa said this investment will fund infrastructure for rail, road, ports, logistics and digital connectivity.
He also promised to set aside R940 billion to fund infrastructure projects for the next three years.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered on this promise with a budget of over R1 trillion for the next three years, with R402 billion going towards transport and logistics, with R93.1 billion going to SANRAL to maintain the country’s roads.
