Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has outlined government’s key reform priorities ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), highlighting urgent interventions in water security, crime, economic recovery and local government reform.
Speaking to GoZa TV on Thursday, Ntshavheni said the President’s address would detail short, medium and long-term plans to tackle some of the country’s most pressing challenges.
Water crisis a national concern
Addressing the water shortages in Gauteng, Ntshavheni emphasised that the crisis extends beyond Johannesburg.
She confirmed that President Ramaphosa has dispatched the Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina and the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa to assess the situation on the ground.
“The water shortage is a national issue, and it's for that reason that during the sixth administration, we started to make legislative amendments… that will enable national government to make interventions into the water problem due to local government capacity,” she said.
Ntshavheni added that in the seventh administration, water reforms were included as part of broader local government interventions under Operation Vulindlela.
“The President this evening will then articulate what are the interventions that are going to be made, both in the short term, medium term and long term, accepting that the water problems cannot be resolved overnight,” she said.
She also called on citizens to reduce consumption amid high demand.
“We need to, all of us, to reduce the demand for water. We need to use water sparingly. We cannot water our gardens… we can't refill the swimming pools,” she said, urging residents to report leaks and conserve supply.
Foot-and-mouth disease response
On the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), Minister Ntshavheni said rebuilding vaccine production capacity was a priority.
“You are aware that we have rebuilt the capacity of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) to produce the Foot and Mouth vaccines. And though we will not be able to have enough numbers, there will be measures to get enough vaccines…So the President will articulate because we need to deal with that situation,” she said.
South Africa, she noted, must regain its FMD-free status.
“There was a time South Africa was FMD free. We need to go back to that status. But it is also going to impact on the crisis of food…and also our export, because we are a big exporter of beef,” she said.
The President is expected to outline further measures to secure adequate vaccine supply and protect the agricultural sector.
Intensifying the fight against organised crime
On crime and corruption, Ntshavheni said government’s focus is shifting from petty crime to organised criminal networks.
“You'll recall that in the previous administration, we launched Operation Shanela… and we have dealt a number of blows [to crime]. We have had a significant reduction in the crime levels in those areas.
“Now the focus is shifting to dealing with organised crime, including illicit trade. And we … have finalised a strategy on organised crime,” she said.
She stressed that efforts are underway to “decontaminate the criminal justice system of criminality or being run by organised crime,” referencing measures emerging from the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Ntshavheni also urged citizens not to enable corruption.
“When you say to a traffic officer: ‘No, my brother I can give you something…’ - that is corruption,” she said.
She called on communities to report criminal activity, including gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
“We need to report them to the police so that they can be dealt with,” she said, adding that strengthening support structures for victims remains critical.
Freight logistics and economic growth
Ntshavheni said improvements in rail and port infrastructure are beginning to support economic recovery.
“What's important is not just the trains being back online. It's also what it means for the cost of travel,” she said.
She noted that commuter rail has significantly reduced transport costs for low- and middle-income earners.
“You cut the price of commuter travel in a day by 75% so you are paying 25% of what you have paid on travel and using a train,” she said.
On freight logistics, she pointed to port decongestion and new private sector participation in rail corridors as key to boosting exports and economic growth.
“It talks directly to the ability of the economy to grow, very specially when we are ramping up our capacity as a manufacturing economy,” she said.
She added that growth projections are improving and that reforms in energy and logistics are yielding results, alongside progress in stabilising electricity supply.
Building capable local government
With local government elections on the horizon, Ntshavheni stressed that reforms are focused on capacity, not campaigning.
“It’s not about the elections that are coming. It's about the realisation… that so if local government doesn't function, the entities of government does not function,” she said.
She said reviewing the White Paper on Local Government is central to building a “capable, capacitated, skilled local government” able to deliver housing, water, waste management and disaster-resilient infrastructure.
“We need to make sure that when we rebuild the infrastructure, we build it in a manner that is sustainable and that it is disaster resilient,” she said.
Ntshavheni also called for stronger partnerships between municipalities, traditional leaders and communities, including paying for municipal services.
Call for national partnership
In her closing remarks, Ntshavheni urged South Africans to use SONA as an opportunity to reflect and engage.
“We want South Africans to use the opportunity of the SONA as a feedback of from the work that has been done… and interact with government as part of that partnership,” she said.
She linked this call to significant national milestones.
“We must do that as we celebrate 70 years of the Women's March, 50 years of the youth uprising, and 30 years of our Constitution… it calls on us to partner with government to make sure we build a better South Africa together,” the Minister said. – SAnews.gov.za
