President Delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday evening. His speech was centered around three points in which he labeled as great priorities for 2021. Ramaphosa said before anything the country must first defeat the coronavirus pandemic. The Second plan is to accelerate the countries economic recovery. Thirdly to implement economic reforms to create sustainable jobs and drive inclusive growth. And finally, Ramaphosa said the government  must fight corruption and strengthen the economy 

South  Africa has secured 9 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The first batch, of 80,000 doses, will arrive in the country next week. Further consignments will arrive over the next four weeks, totaling 500,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines. All provinces have roll-out plans in place as the first vaccines come through. In addition, secured 12 million vaccine doses have been secured from the global COVAX facility. This will be complemented by other vaccines that are available to South Africa through the AU’s African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team facility as well. Pfizer has committed 20 million vaccine doses commencing with deliveries at the end of the first quarter.

Ramaphosa has stated that as a result of the relief measures which they implemented and the phased reopening of the economy, the government expecting to see a strong recovery in employment by the end of 2020.

"As we worked to contain the spread of the virus, we also had to take extraordinary measures to support ordinary South Africans, assist businesses in distress and protect people’s livelihoods. We have now developed an infrastructure investment project pipeline worth R340 billion in network industries such as energy, water, transport, and telecommunications. Construction has started and progress is being made on a number of projects."Said Ramaphosa 

Since the announcement of the Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, the government has launched two major human settlement projects that will provide homes to almost 68,000 households in the Gauteng province. Similar human settlement projects are planned in other provinces.

Two years ago Ramaphosa spoke about the dream of building new cities that will enable us to take a break from apartheid’s spatial development. New post-apartheid cities are being conceptualized in a number of places in our country. He said the Lanseria Smart City, the first new city to be built in a democratic South Africa, is now a reality in the making.
The draft masterplan for this smart city – which will become home to between 350,000 to 500,000 people within the next decade – was completed in November 2020 and is now out for public comment.

Progress is being made on several major water infrastructure projects. These include Phase 2A of the Mokolo and Crocodile River project, and the uMkhomazi Water Project. The Infrastructure Investment Plan identifies roads projects worth R19 billion covering the spine of the South African road network. Work is underway to finalise project finance structuring for these projects.
Resources have been committed from the fiscus to support the construction and rehabilitation of the major N1, N2, and N3 highways.

The largest number of jobs will be created by the private sector in a number of industries as the economy recovers.
The government continues to work in a social compact with the private sector to create a more conducive environment for them to be able to create jobs. The compact with the private sector is underpinned by a clear commitment to grow our economy and to create jobs.

However, the public sector has a responsibility to stimulate job creation both through its policies and through direct job creation opportunities. The Presidential Employment Stimulus is one of the most significant expansions of public and social employment in South Africa’s history. By the end of January 2021, Ramaphosa says over 430,000 opportunities have already been supported through the stimulus.

A further 180,000 opportunities are currently in the recruitment process.

These opportunities are in areas like education, arts and culture, global business services, early childhood development, and small-scale and subsistence farming. It involves environmental programmes such as the clearing of alien trees, wetland rehabilitation, fire prevention, and cleaning and greening across all municipalities. These programs are about real lives and real livelihoods. Nearly half a million people are now receiving an income, developing new skills, and contributing to their community and the country’s economy.

Ramaphosa said it of priority to restore Eskom to operational and financial health and accelerating its restructuring process is central to this objective. Eskom has been restructured into three separate entities for generation, transmission, and distribution.

He further said this will lay the foundations for an efficient, modern, and competitive energy system.