uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) MP Des van Rooyen has issued a blunt warning to President Cyril Ramaphosa during Parliament’s debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA). He said voters across all provinces had asked MK to tell the president that, because of unfulfilled promises, the ANC would be “severely punished” in this year’s local government elections.

Van Rooyen delivered his remarks during a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday. The SONA debate continues on Wednesday, with Ramaphosa expected to reply on Thursday.

‘State of Intent’, not a Real Address

Van Rooyen criticised the SONA as long and costly, saying the address ran for more than two hours and cost more than R7 million from the national fiscus. He argued it was “not a State of the Nation Address” but a “State of Intent Address”, focused on plans, committees, trustees and another investment summit.

He also said the president failed to properly account for the performance of what he called a disunited Government of National Unity, adding that “a nation in crisis cannot be governed by intention”.

Service Delivery Pain, Youth Left Behind

Van Rooyen said promises of economic growth, infrastructure delivery, lower crime, reduced corruption, job creation and “reimagined municipalities” had not materialised. He pointed to communities in Johannesburg queuing at water tankers and rural families sharing stream water with animals while sanitation pleas go unanswered.

He also linked ongoing student registration and accommodation pressures to government’s failure to commit to MK’s call for free education, and said many qualified young people remain excluded from the economy.

MK Says it is Ready to Replace the ANC

Van Rooyen said growth remains weak, unemployment is structural and poverty is entrenched. He criticised National Treasury’s austerity approach and called for investment in growth-enhancing infrastructure. He also claimed rail capacity, port efficiency and energy supply deteriorated after Ramaphosa took office in February 2018.

MK, which emerged in 2024, now says it has a presence in all nine provinces and is ready to offer an alternative government focused on growing the economy, creating jobs, fighting crime, tackling illegal immigration and addressing poverty rooted in apartheid.