Mzansi Now: President Ramaphosa’s 2026 State of the Nation Address — Illegal Mining, Corruption, and Water Shortages
Each February, the sitting president of South Africa delivers the State of the Nation Address (SONA) to acknowledge the struggles and achievements of the past year, and illustrate what they plan to accomplish in the year ahead. On Thursday February 12, President Cyril Ramaphosa began this year’s speech with a recognition of the women’s rights movement, the anti-apartheid movement, and how South Africa became the constitutional democracy it is today, instilling a feeling of national pride with his audience. He went on to discuss the nation’s successes in 2025, from a reduction in electric load shedding to an increase in job creation to the successful hosting of the G20 summit, reminding the nation that they have continued to succeed as a functional independent state on the global stage.
He juxtaposed this list of achievements with the challenges South Africa still faces, admitting that although service delivery and unemployment were both improved upon, these issues are still primary concerns for South Africans and require further attention. He listed three major goals of the national government to address in the coming year: To drive inclusive growth and job creation, to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living, and to build a capable, ethical and developmental state.
Illegal Mining and Gang Violence
In illustrating how he plans to tackle these goals, Ramaphosa began by addressing violent crime and gang violence, two phenomena that accompany the illegal mining industry. He called organized crime his “primary focus this year” and “the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development”. Illegal mining has not only resulted in the loss of billions of rand in government revenue, but has caused the collapse of homes, public buildings, and infrastructure like roads, power lines, and gas pipelines. The destruction of infrastructure has forced students to miss school or even drop out as buildings deteriorate and roads become impassable. In order to ameliorate the prolific and violent nature of illegal mining, Ramaphosa announced he would be deploying the South African National Defense Forces (SANDF) to the Western Cape and Gauteng, where the industry is most prominent. He also announced the recruitment of 5,500 additional police officers, as well as the establishment of a National Illicit Economy Disruption Programme; the program would act as a consolidating body for state agencies and private sector stakeholders to mitigate the sale and distribution of illegal mined materials and other counterfeit goods.
Ramaphosa also acknowledged the necessity of treating the causes of the gang violence that accompanies illegal mining, which are known to primarily be poverty and unemployment. He said that “we are implementing an integrated strategy to address the root causes of crime through coordinated interventions across society, from street lighting to access to social services.” He did not provide clarity on the kind of social services he would be attempting to institute or how he planned to integrate them.
Corruption
Experts have speculated that illegal mining has ties to government and police corruption. In an interview on February 16, Mineral Resources Portfolio Committee chairperson Mikateko Mahlaule said that police have come to areas where illegal mining is taking place, but have done little to stop the activities or investigate who is buying the materials being sold. In response to such criticism, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), South Africa's premier body responsible for security and intelligence, said that the Hawks unit of the South African Police Force (SAPS) is making efforts to target the beneficiaries of the mining operations. But the Hawks themselves have been conspiring with other organized crime rings in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), another subject acknowledged by Ramaphosa in his speech. Earlier this year, the Madlanaga Commission found that there had been collusion between senior KZN police officials and local drug cartels. The commission alleged that confidential information had been shared by the police with the cartel members and that they had been knowingly allowed criminal syndicates to operate in exchange for payments. In his SONA, Ramaphosa acknowledged these findings and said that the State Security Agency would re-vet the Senior Management of the SAPS and Metro Police departments, including lifestyle audits. He also said that the Madlanga Commission’s “findings and recommendations will lay the basis for a fundamental reform of our criminal justice system.”
Ramaphosa has long been vocal about corruption within the South African government following former President Jacob Zuma's tenure, which was marred by corruption, laundering, and racketteering charges. But in 2025, South Africa scored a 41/100 on the Corruptions Perceptions Index, indicating that corruption within government bodies continues to be a persistent issue. Outside of the police department, South Africans have voiced concern about corruption in the form of neglect when it comes to service delivery. Water shortages, outdated infrastructure, and poor road maintenance have left residents wondering why their government cannot act to resolve the issues in a timely manner.
Water Shortages
Ramaphosa went on to discuss the persistent issue of water shortages across the country. He mentioned the Knysna municipality in the Western Cape, which faced severely high water losses between October 2025 and early February 2026, leaving locals with just a few days of water at a time. He said that the Minister of Water and Sanitation, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and their deputies are currently in Knysna, assessing the damage and explaining to residents how the government intends to deal with the issue. Ramaophosa further acknowledged that the primary cause of the water shortages is neglected infrastructure and announced that the government had “committed 156 billion rand in public funding for water and sanitation infrastructure over the next three years”.
He also discussed reforms aimed at addressing the root causes of water shortages with the establishment of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency, which would manage funding for the country’s water infrastructure, and the Water Services Amendment Bill, which was introduced in March. The bill would tighten existing requirements for water service delivery, provide for inspections of infrastructure, and establish penalties when water shortages are not dealt with properly. But some have been critical of Ramaphosa’s insistence that the bill would actually reduce issues with water delivery in the long term. The Organization Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), a South African non-profit that tracks the government’s use of tax revenue, says that the problem with water services is not a lack of regulation, but “a shortage of political will”. Because the new bill is an amendment of 1997 legislation, OUTA says that new legislation around the issue does not resolve the lack of enforcement of such laws. The organization welcomed the bill’s proposed reforms, but argued that consequences for financial mismanagement and weak oversight by the government must be stronger.
In his address, Ramaphosa said the government would “hold to account those who neglect their responsibility of supplying water to our people”, and noted the charges against April Ntuli, the Municipal Manager of the Emfuleni Local Municipality. Ntuli is currently under investigation for neglecting to address sewage spills that have been polluting rivers and residential areas in the Emfuleni Local Municipality, violating the National Water Act of 1998. The case, which was brought on February 11, is still ongoing but illustrates the coinciding issues of poor infrastructure and ineffective governance that Ramaphosa seeks to address.
The issues of illegal mining, government corruption, and service delivery are deeply interlinked. The activity of illegal miners has damaged outdated infrastructure and polluted water reserves, which then goes unresolved, exacerbating the water shortage crisis and highlighting the government’s insufficient attention to the issue. In his SONA, Ramaphosa said “the current system is too complex and fragmented, expecting even small and weak municipalities to take on many responsibilities”. What he has acknowledged here, and what residents, local politicians, and independent groups have demanded for years, is a stronger approach by the national government to take on these concurring issues that have overwhelmed municipal authorities for years.