President Cyril Ramaphosa's address on gender-based violence and femicide has been met with criticism from opposition parties, who argue that his four-point plan lacks concrete actions and is merely another set of empty promises. The criticism comes after the discovery of several women's bodies in Ekurhuleni and surrounding areas, highlighting the government's failure to adequately protect women. Ramaphosa acknowledged this failure and outlined new interventions, including municipal safety audits and a national recovery operation for unresolved sexual offences.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has demanded immediate action, not promises, to address the escalating violence against women. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis stated that women need to feel safe, and that the government has made numerous announcements over the years without tangible progress. He emphasized that under a DA-led government, the focus would shift directly toward detection, arrests, and successful prosecutions, ensuring that perpetrators face consequences for their actions.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) also criticized Ramaphosa's address, labeling it "yet another belated intervention" from a government that has long understood the crisis but consistently failed to act. The EFF argued that South Africa does not suffer from a lack of information about gender-based violence and femicide, but rather from a failure of political will, institutional capacity, and accountability. The party insisted that the new plan be judged against past performance, urging the administration to account for why so many cases remain unsolved.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba described Ramaphosa's address as "a little too late," leaving women and children dangerously exposed. He raised concerns about the severe lack of resources at police stations and inadequate victim support services, warning that the new plan will yield few results unless systemic flaws are fixed. Mashaba emphasized that until the government addresses institutional failures, South African women and children will remain vulnerable to violence and secondary trauma.
The ATM Joburg mayoral candidate, Vuyo Zungula, demanded a concrete framework to ensure the newly announced measures are enforced. He stated that South Africans need a clear implementation framework with identified budgets, responsible institutions, deadlines, measurable targets, and regular public reporting. Zungula urged the government to account for the money already allocated to GBVF and demonstrate what has worked, what has failed, and what corrective action will be taken.
The opposition parties' criticism highlights a persistent gap between government announcements and the daily reality women face in their communities. The EFF emphasized that despite previous interventions, violence has continued at an unacceptable scale, and the government cannot continue responding to every major incident by announcing new structures, audits, or reviews without accounting for the failure of existing ones.
The criticism of Ramaphosa's plan underscores the need for tangible actions and a clear implementation framework to address the escalating violence against women in South Africa. The opposition parties' demands for accountability, measurable targets, and a focus on detection, arrests, and successful prosecutions highlight the need for a more effective approach to combating gender-based violence and femicide.
Key points
- Opposition parties criticize President Cyril Ramaphosa's GBV plan, citing lack of tangible progress and empty promises.
- The government is urged to provide a clear implementation framework with identified budgets, responsible institutions, deadlines, measurable targets, and regular public reporting.
- The opposition parties emphasize the need for a focus on detection, arrests, and successful prosecutions to address the escalating violence against women in South Africa.
