Thapelo Molefe
THE Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has called into question the sincerity of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to transformation, following his apology in Parliament for failing to deliver on his 2019 promise to build one million houses in Alexandra Township.
On Thursday, the EFF national spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys said Ramaphosa’s concession, which came after being pressured by the party, confirms that his presidency has been marked by broken promises and deceit.
“It confirms that Ramaphosa’s tenure as President of South Africa has been characterised by lies, false promises, and electioneering using the struggles of ordinary people,” Mathys said.
EFF leader, Julius Malema, asked Ramaphosa in the Questions for Oral Reply Session in parliament whether any progress had been made on the building of the one million houses he promised in Alexander in 2019.
“In his response, Ramaphosa attempted to rewrite history and distort his own words by claiming that he never made such a promise, and his commitment was that there would be a project to build one million houses nation-wide within a five-year period,” Mathys said.
She added that after further interrogation by Malema, the president eventually conceded that he misled the people of Alexander and ultimately apologised.
“Notably, if we were to measure Ramaphosa by his own distortion that he promised to build one million houses nation-wide, he did not meet that target over a five-year period, meaning even by his own lies today, he failed,” she said.
Mathys said it is unfortunate that an EFF “commissar” Moshe Mphahlele, who was killed while fighting for housing for the people of Alexandra, did not see the man who lied to those he gave his life for, fall on his sword of lies.
“The EFF has maintained that Cyril Ramaphosa lied to the people of Alexander and that no meaningful changes have been achieved during his Presidency. This concession to his lies is one of many that ought to happen, and he has many lies and acts of incompetence to apologise for,” Mathys said.
The party highlighted several instances of Ramaphosa’s failed promises, including his failure to fix the water crisis in Hammanskraal, rebuild the country’s railway infrastructure, address the rising unemployment rate, and the collapse in the public healthcare sector.
“It was Ramaphosa who, through his ‘Presidential Employment Stimulus’ in 2020, promised to create 800 000 jobs. At the time, unemployment in South Africa stood at 32.5%; today, in the year 2024, unemployment sits at 33.5%, and during his tenure, he has even gone on to say that it is not the responsibility of the government to create jobs,” Mathys said.
The EFF also criticised Ramaphosa for his handling of gender-based violence and his role in the Marikana Massacre, for which he is yet to apologise, the party said.
Mathys said the president promised to reduce and eliminate gender-based violence (GBV), to create a national register of GBV offenders that would be made public, to review GBV cases that were closed due to inadequate handling, to clear the backlog of cases, particularly those involving DNA testing, and to make rape testing kits available in all police stations.
“Today in 2024, there is no National Register of GBV Offenders, there has been no national review of GBV cases that were improperly handled, and police stations still do not have enough rape kits to cater for victims, with a shortage of over 40 000 kits in police stations across the country,” she said.
She said it has been six years since Ramaphosa promised to visit the widows of Marikana at Mama Winnie Madikizela Mandela’s funeral, and till today, this has not happened.
“Ramaphosa is a president who lives a lie and expects all South Africans to forget his promises and accept his empty guarantees while forgetting those he has made in the past. The EFF will not form part of a life of lies, and we will expose them whenever they are told,” Mathys said.
However, the ANC has welcomed Ramaphosa’s clarification in Parliament regarding his 2019 promise to provide housing in Alexandra.
ANC acting national spokesperson Zuko Godlimpi said the President reaffirmed the government’s dedication to addressing the historical challenges faced by our people, including the promise made to enhance their living conditions and infrastructure.
“The President reiterated that while challenges remain, the ANC-led Government of National Unity is unwavering in its commitment to ensuring that South Africans, including the people of Alexandra, enjoy the benefits of a better life,” Godlimpi said.
Godlimpi strongly condemned opposition parties for misrepresenting the president’s statements, saying that they are seeking to score political points at the expense of truth.
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