February 9, 2024.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lynne Davies.

Making headlines:

NGOs, political parties slam Ramaphosa’s SoNA's ‘empty promises’

Waning perceptions of drinking water quality underline need for urgent intervention

And, Unicef says 700 000 children in Sudan at risk of worst form of malnutrition

NGOs, political parties slam Ramaphosa’s SoNA's ‘empty promises’

Political parties and non-governmental organisations have criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2024 State of the Nation Address, saying it is fraught with big promises that show no sign of learning from past mistakes or changing course.

Ramaphosa delivered his eighth SoNA last night at the Cape Town City Hall.

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen said Ramaphosa had not kept any of his promises made in his previous SoNAs and that he had not tabled any pragmatic, workable legislation to realise his ‘New Dawn’.

ActionSA president Herman Mashaba said the SoNA was a “political sleight of hand”, where Ramaphosa appropriated the progress of the ruling party made under Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki while distancing himself from its failures and corruption during President Jacob Zuma’s State Capture era.

GOOD secretary-general and MP Brett Herron said his party was disappointed with Ramaphosa’s SoNA as it did not make commitments for a social security overhaul.

Waning perceptions of drinking water quality underline need for urgent intervention

While the majority of South Africans perceive their water to be safe to drink, their confidence in water services and quality has been deteriorating over the last decade, a water services barometer study has revealed.

The 2022 water services barometer study, undertaken by the Water Research Commission, in collaboration with the South African Local Government Association, is the third such perception study, following previous studies in 2011 and 2015, to establish users’ perceptions of the current provision of water services in South African municipalities.

The study, published in December 2023, showed that, while 88% of consumers believed their water was safe or very safe to drink in 2015, only 79% of urban South Africans and only 64% of rural South Africans had the same confidence in 2022.

The barometer, which canvassed the views of 3 302 households, including 738 rural households, which were included for the first time, further found that up to 50% of the respondents treat their municipal water by boiling or filtering it before consumption, while 8% indicated that they drink only bottled water.

Unicef says 700 000 children in Sudan at risk of worst form of malnutrition

Unicef said today that 700 000 children in Sudan were likely to suffer from the worst form of malnutrition this year, with tens of thousands who could die.

A 10-month war in Sudan between its armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has devastated the country's infrastructure, prompted warnings of famine and displaced millions of people inside and outside the country.

Unicef won't be able to treat more than 300 000 affected people without improved access and without additional support. In that case, tens of thousands would likely die.

3.5-million children were projected to suffer acute malnutrition.

Unicef is appealing for $840-million to help just over 7.5-million children in Sudan this year.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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