Resign in Shame: Steenhuisen Says SA Facing Crisis on 3 Fronts

Tuesday, February 09, 2021 at 11:03 AM by Samantha Riddle

- John Steenhuisen is adamant that South Africa is facing a crisis on three fronts

- The DA leader is adamant that President Ramaphosa won't be giving an honest State of the Nation Address on Thursday

- Steenhuisen claimed that any other government would be prompted to 'resign in shame'

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Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen is adamant that President Cyril Ramaphosa won't be giving South Africans an honest State of the Nation Address later this week.

Mainstream — Steenhuisen insists that any other government would have resigned in shame. Image: GCIS/ Flickr, Twitter/ Democratic Alliance
Source: UGC

Calling for a factual assessment of the nation's current situation, the opposition leader insisted that Ramaphosa won't be the person who ultimately delivers it:

"He will underplay our economic crisis, he will overplay the government’s Covid response and he will outright lie about our vaccine plan."

Steenhuisen says that the 'hard truth' is that SA is a 'nation in a crisis on three fronts, explaining that:

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"Firstly, we’re in a Covid crisis, from which the only way out is the immediate rollout of a massive vaccination programme."

That aside, the politician further explained that the economy is the next crisis SA is facing:

"Secondly, we’re in an economic crisis, and here the only way out is a raft of urgent and bold economic reforms."

Lastly, Steenhuisen turned his attention to the third crisis South Africa is attempting to endure:

"And thirdly, we’re in a crisis of democracy, as the recent shocking testimony at the Zondo Commission has revealed. And the only immediate way out of this crisis, if we’re brutally honest, is for our government to resign in shame."

Steenhuisen says that while the nation still waits for Ramaphosa to provide a detailed vaccination plan it is becoming evident that there won't be enough vaccines in time to ward of third and even fourth waves.

This leaves the 'already shattered economy' in a fragile position which Steenhuisen believes will bring on a sovereign debt crisis, job losses and 'extraordinary human suffering and deprivation':

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"We know that almost everything the President said about his government’s efforts to procure vaccines has been a distortion of the truth to create the impression that they’ve been busy for the past six months, while in reality they only woke up in January."

Meanwhile, Briefly.co.za reported that the South African health department has temporarily stopped the rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

The vaccine rollout was stopped after a new study showed that the vaccine is not very effective against the 501Y.V2 Covid-19 variant.

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced on Sunday evening that a team of experts would soon give guidance on the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Mkhize was part of a panel of experts that hosted a media briefing which outlined new developments in SA's vaccine rollout.

Professor Salim Abdool Karim, one of South Africa’s leading Covid-19 experts, said the new research about the vaccine does not spell “doom and gloom”.