LPM tears into Sona, says govt spotlights ‘failures as progress’

The Landless People's Movement (LPM) has accused government of recycling promises and shifting policy targets following President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah's State of the Nation Address (Sona), which the party did not attend.

"The current administration continues to reuse jargon, recycle and re-express promises with new taglines, shifts in goalposts, when they fail to achieve their own promises and find less than clever manners to explain failures as progress," national spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa said.

Nandi-Ndaitwah on Wednesday highlighted government achievements under the theme 'Advancing Towards the Realisation of Vision 2030'.

The president pointed to economic growth projections, infrastructure development and social sector investments as indicators of progress.

LPM pushed back, arguing that the government has failed to provide "clear direction, credible leadership or meaningful solutions to every crisis facing our nation".

While government reported ongoing efforts in land servicing and low-cost housing, including the delivery of housing units and serviced erven, LPM said original commitments have been diluted over time.

“A clear example would be the president promises 50 000 houses in five years, 10 000 per year. The minister of urban and rural development expresses the goal was 3 000 houses (a shift in goalposts), and still they failed to meet this goal,” Simataa said.

Figures disputed

The LPM also dismissed government's employment claims, criticising figures presented during the Sona citing job creation through investment projects and social security registrations.

“They made promises about employment of +/-250 000 jobs, and we are certain that they will express with great enthusiasm how they made a teaspoon of opportunities in comparison to their once again unprovoked promise, which they will fail to achieve,” Simataa said.

Nandi-Ndaitwah reported that more than 130 000 people had been registered as new employees during the period under review, alongside job creation linked to investment projects and youth programmes.

LPM, however, argued that the gap between promises and delivery remains a defining feature of the administration.

“These matters remain fundamentally unchanged,” the statement read.