State of the Nation Address 2026 debate by Bantu Holomisa
Speech for Deputy Minister Bantu Holomisa, MP and President of the United Democratic Movement at the State of the Nation Address 2026 debate
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Honourable Speaker
Honourable Members
The Government of National Unity (GNU) will not be judged by the promises tabled during the opening of Parliament, but by whether that skeletal plan is implemented with urgency, discipline and measurable results.
South Africans have heard plans before. What they demand now is execution.
1. Security is the foundation of development
The State of the Nation Address (SONA) emphasised economic recovery and energy stability, but sustainable growth also depends on protecting our environment and critical infrastructure from vandalism, illegal mining and sabotage that damage ecosystems and investor confidence.
We are strengthening enforcement, deploying coordinated security and accelerating prosecutions because environmental protection, stability and growth are inseparable.
The GNU further recognises that development cannot flourish without security.
We therefore welcome:
• The deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in support of South African Police Service (SAPS) in crime epicentres such as the Cape Flats and the broader Western Cape, and areas such as Randfontein in Gauteng.
• The elevation of the security cluster as a national priority.
• The use of Artificial Intelligence-driven systems for predictive policing and intelligence coordination.
In line with the orders issued by the Commander-in-Chief, President Ramaphosa, I confirm that the Department of Defence is seized with operational requirements to support stabilisation interventions in consultation with the security cluster.
This is just phase one of restoring normality.
2. Crime and consequences: the era of impunity is over
Mqwathi, mandikuqinisekise amasela ixesha lawo liphelile. Yekani ii Law Enforcement Agencies zenze umsebenzi wazo, singaphazanyiswa.
The honeymoon is over.
Corruption and maladministration have not merely touched the state, they have engulfed it, reaching even into our law enforcement agencies. The rot did not spare the Department of Defence either.
That is why we acknowledge the President’s decision to sign the proclamation authorising the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate these matters and more.
Accountability cannot be selective. It must be decisive and it must reach everywhere.
At a briefing to the Portfolio Committee and Joint Standing Committee on Defence, the SIU, the Military Police, and the Hawks assured us that we have recovered over R1.6 billion linked to corruption and mismanagement within Defence.
This is just a start of restoring the image of our defence force. That is consequence management in action.
If Special Courts could be established by the Department of Justice in partnership with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), this will assist to accelerate the resolution of all pending military cases.
Crime and corruption embarrass this country. They damage investor confidence. They weaken sovereignty.
We have no choice but to confronting them head-on.
3. No country survives without law
No country can function if its laws are optional, and anyone who comes to this country legally must be prepared to abide by the law or they will be shipped out.
Fellow South Africans, you deserve a state that works, systems that speak to each other, and early warning mechanisms that stop crime before it spreads.
Without accurate Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) registration, South African Revenue Service (SARS) cannot collect revenue from all traders operating in our economy.
Furthermore, law enforcement cannot properly trace or dismantle criminal syndicates operating in the underworld.
South Africa urgently needs a coordinated security response plan with time frames and the strengthening of the NPA as to be functional.
South Africa’s liberation history teaches us solidarity. But protection must be credible and enforceable.
If a person is granted asylum yet voluntarily returns to the very country they claim to be fleeing during holiday season, that status must be reviewed. You cannot be in danger today and on holiday tomorrow.
Accountability is not hostility. It is fairness. It is security. It is sovereignty.
4. The Public Investment Corporation
Mr President, in 2023 you called on the Minister of Finance to address the pension queries of former civil servants. The affected community is still waiting for feedback and progress reports. People are dying while the system drags its feet, and each day of delay is a day of injustice.
It is even more painful to see that the funds meant to secure these pensions are being looted by the elite through the Isibaya Fund at the Public Investment Corporation. Resources meant for ordinary South Africa are being diverted to enrich a few, deepening inequality and betraying public trust.
How we wish that money could instead be invested in South Africa’s infrastructure, generating real returns for the country and creating jobs. This is a guaranteed investment in the nation, not in private greed. The people deserve accountability and action, not corruption.
5. Skills development: from training to productivity
We welcome the review of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) as a corrective measure to ensure that skills funding delivers measurable results.
Within Defence, the South African National Service Institute (SANSI) recently passed out over 500 young people.
Mr President, do consider ring-fencing and redirecting SETA funding towards:
• Funding into structured, outcome-based programmes such as SANSI.
• Standardised study guides in mathematics, languages, accounting and entrepreneurship.
• Mandatory practical and technical skill components.
In 2001, Matt Matthys, Chantal Mulder, the President South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), Ignatius Sehoole, and I spearheaded the Thuthuka Project, providing English, Mathematics, and Accounting study guides for Grades 9 to 12. Today, that project has produced over 2,000 Black Chartered Accountants.
We may need to have a tailor-made, or similar setup into skills development.
6. Prevention of Hate Crimes and Combating of Hate Speech Act
The Prevention of Hate Crimes and Combating of Hate Speech Act, though intended to protect dignity and equality, goes beyond what our Constitution permits and places freedom of religion at risk. It criminalises expression using vague and undefined concepts and expands protected grounds without legal certainty.
In a constitutional democracy, believers must be free to express their faith without fear of prosecution. Equality must never be advanced by eroding religious freedom. We therefore urge that the Act be constitutionally aligned through appropriate amendments before it comes into operation.
7. Conclusion: restoring dignity, restoring the state
No country survives without law. No economy grows without stability. No democracy thrives without accountability.
South Africans want safety, fairness, opportunity and a state that works. Through decisive, coordinated action on security reform, border integrity, infrastructure protection, skills development and consequence management, we will deliver.
Judge us not by our words, but by the order we restore, the stability we secure and the future we build together.
I thank you.
