Opposition parties have described President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday as recycling the previous speeches without adding anything new.

Reacting to Ramaphosa’s 29-page speech, many opposition party leaders shared their disappointment.

DA leader John Steenhuisen said Ramaphosa’s speech was repeating what he had said before.

‘’The real Sona we are going to watch is the one that is going to be right after this year’s elections,’’ Steenhuisen said.

IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa said he felt like it was a copy and paste of the previous speeches.

NFP Parliamentary Leader Ahmed Munzoor said Ramaphosa’s Sona was an election campaign rather than an address to the nation.

He however did say that the president touched on important matters like the National Health Insurance (NHI) programme.

Al Jama-ah Leader Ganief Hendricks said the president spoke about the living wage, which is a starvation wage.

Hendricks said the Sona had put Ramaphosa in a difficult position as the country was going to the elections.

UDM Secretary General Yongama Zigebe said this was a monumental waste of time, adding that the president’s speech was the same rhetoric that had been heard before.

Cosatu’s Matthew Parks said Cosatu is frustrated because the country is sitting at a 40% unemployment rate.

SACP First Deputy Secretary General Madala Masuku said the state must make sure that they put an end to load shedding.

Pictured above: DA leader John Steenhuisen speaking to the media.

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