By Thapelo Molefe
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) has rejected President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2026 State of the Nation Address, saying it was a costly event that failed to confront rising poverty, unemployment and deteriorating public services.
In a statement issued on Friday, Nehawu said the Thursday night address was a “R7 million spectacle” that has become “a platform for carefully crafted rhetoric and unrealistic target setting”.
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“The President’s utterance about the Social Relief of Distress grant lifting people out of poverty is incorrect,” Nehawu said.
Citing national poverty data, the union said 30.3 million South Africans, representing 55.5% of the population, live below the upper bound poverty line, while 13.8 million experience food poverty. It accused Ramaphosa of failing to provide certainty on the future of the SRD grant and of reneging on commitments to
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