When Tintswalo listened to SONA, it made her 'sad and angry' - Steenhuisen
MPs are on Tuesday debating the president’s eighth State of the Nation Address in the Cape Town City Hall.
FILE: Leader of the Democratic Alliance John Steenhuisen speaks during a debate at a parliamentary session in Cape Town. Picture: Gianluigi Guercia / AFP
CAPE TOWN - Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John sSteenhuisen has presented an alternative version of the life of Tintswalo in Parliament on Tuesday, the fictional character used by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (SONA).
According to Steenhuisen, she’s never been more disillusioned by the freedom that has left her unemployed, living in a shack without water and electricity, whose father has been murdered and who fears for her safety.
He said the African National Congress (ANC) government had dashed the dreams of many young people since the dawn of democracy.
MPs are on Tuesday debating the president’s eighth State of the Nation Address in the Cape Town City Hall.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said Tintswalo’s dreams of a better future were dented when the former president used millions of rands to build a chicken coop and a fire pool at his Nkandla home and then faced rape charges.
"The hard truth Mr President is that when Tintswalo listened to the president on Thursday, it did not make her grateful as he may have hoped, it made her sad, and it made her angry."
Steenhuisen said that the ANC’s unfilled promises, as well as unemployment, rampant crime and load shedding, were the biggest threats to freedom.
"So, know this: every time the lights go out, every time the taps run dry, every time the criminals attack us in our homes, every time a small business shuts down, every time a child dies of hunger, it reminds us all of the dream that we have lost."
He warned voters that by voting for the ANC would be to see it join forces with radical and populist movements to maintain its grip on power.