Opposition parties on Tuesday threw cold water on President Cyril Ramaphosa's dream of a new smart city, bullet trains and other technological advances, saying he needed to fix what was broken now first.
Debating the president's state-of-the-nation address (SONA), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said the realities faced by South Africans on a daily basis required Ramaphosa to move past imaging, and rather provide a clear plan of action, a timetable and proper implementation.
"After being stuck for four hours on a strain in Soshanguve, the billionaire president was so traumatised that he now fantasises about a bullet train from Musina to Cape Town."
Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said Ramaphosa's dream of high-tech cities and high-speed trains rang hollow as most the majority of South Africans would be left behind.
"Our priority should be to fix what is broken and build a South Africa where all can be guaranteed equality of opportunity -- be it in the classroom, on the sports field, or in the workplace," said Maimane.
"To meet these urgent challenges we don’t need dreams. We need money, we need the right people and, most importantly, we need a plan. And in order to do that, we don’t need to build new smart cities, honourable president. We need to make our current cities smart."
Both Maimane and Malema called on Ramaphosa to lead by example when he spoke of eradicating corruption, insisting he needed to clear the air regarding the donation by Bosasa's Gavin Watson -- a man alleged to have been behind the bribing of state officials and politicians in exchange for lucrative government contracts.
Earlier this month, the Public Protector wrote to the president, informing him that he had been implicated in her investigation, giving him time to respond to her report.
"Mr President, you should lead by example and stop delaying and frustrating the Public Protector’s investigation in your Bosasa dealings," Maimane said.
- African News Agency (ANA)
