Reactions from the opposition

The Good party leader Patricia de Lille said while Ramaphosa had said many good things, he had also painted a glorified picture of the country. “I couldn’t help but feel the disconnect between the reality on the ground and what he was speaking about.”,

De Lille’s advice to Ramaphosa was to take the new plans and give to a minister who would be held accountable.

DA chief whip John Steenhuisen expressed interest for the NPA’s soon-to-be realised investigative ability. “We have to stop talking commissions; we have to see people going to jail.”

Regarding Eskom, Steenhuisen said he would have liked to have seen more industry players brought to the table which would help create jobs and benefit the consumer.

“It’s no good unbundling Eskom and then keeping it as a government monopoly. The only way you can introduce efficiency is by allowing the private sector to enter the industry.”

EFF leader Julius Malema also gave Ramaphosa a somewhat backhanded nod of approval, saying “he abandoned the ANC manifesto, and plagiarised the EFF manifesto”. He claimed Ramaphosa stole his ideas on early childhood development, human settlements, and others from the red berets.