In his annual state of the nation address, President Ramaphosa addressed domestic issues and Israel's war on Gaza.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reaffirmed his country's commitment to helping secure a ceasefire in the war in Gaza and an eventual two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, during his annual state of the nation address.
Speaking to lawmakers at Cape Town City Hall on Thursday, the president said that “guided by the fundamental principle of human rights and freedom”, South Africa had taken up the Palestinian cause “to prevent further death and destruction in Gaza”.
South Africa has brought a case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. Last month, the court issued a provisional ruling, saying it has jurisdiction to hear the case and ordering Israel to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts.
“We have welcomed the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians,” Ramaphosa said in his speech.
“We condemn the killing of civilians on all sides and call on all parties involved in the conflict to commit to a peace process that leads to a two-state solution,” he added.
Al Jazeera's Fahmida Miller, reporting from Johannesburg after the speech, said South Africa so far considers its ICJ case “a success.”
“Ramaphosa had said that there really is no conflict anywhere in the world that is intractable and that cannot be resolved through negotiations, and that is what he said when he addressed the issue of the war in Gaza and said that South Africa stood firmly behind the people Palestinian… and that they would use all diplomatic and legal methods to continue that fight and achieve a ceasefire and a two-state solution for that region,” our correspondent added.
30 years of democracy
This year is a key election year for South Africa. Ramaphosa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has led the country since the first democratic elections after the end of apartheid in 1994.
Although it has historically dominated, the ANC is struggling in the polls and many analysts say it will for the first time obtain less than the 50 percent parliamentary majority it achieved in past elections.
On Thursday, the third largest opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), also boycotted the state of the nation address after its leader and deputy leader were suspended from parliament. for bursting onto the stage during last year's speech.
Ramaphosa, 71, used his speech to highlight how far the country has come since the end of apartheid.
“Ramaphosa took the occasion to talk about some of the progress that has been made over the last 30 years,” Miller said. “The ANC is going through a very difficult time. Many would say that the ruling party in South Africa has failed millions of South Africans because little has changed, but the ANC would say something different.”
“Finally [Ramaphosa] I used the speech to try to highlight what the ruling party has done over the last three decades, and to try to get South Africans to the polls, and to try to renew their hopes in the party, to try to fix some of the problems . the difficulties that the party has experienced,” he added.
Ramaphosa also spoke about the measures his government has taken to address the country's protracted energy crisis. “We are confident that the worst is behind us and that the end of load shedding is finally within our reach,” he said, using the local term for blackouts.
He also promised thousands of new jobs and said his government “made significant progress on measures to grow the economy, create jobs and reduce poverty.”
Without naming him, Ramaphosa also attacked his predecessor Jacob Zuma, 81, who was suspended from the ruling party last month after backing a separatist party that threatens to take votes away from the ANC.
Listing the challenges South Africa has faced in recent decades, Ramaphosa said “perhaps the greatest damage” to the nation was inflicted by the period of massive corruption that marked Zuma's government.
“For a decade, individuals at the highest levels of the State conspired with private individuals to seize and repurpose state-owned companies, law enforcement agencies and other public institutions,” he said.
“Billions of rands that were meant to meet the needs of ordinary South Africans were stolen.”
South Africans are expected to go to the polls between May and August this year.
