SONA 2012: A “massive infrastructure development drive”

President Jacob Zuma's 2012 State of the Nation Address focuses on a "massive infrastructure development drive" to combat unemployment, poverty, and inequality. The plan includes five geographically-focussed programmes to integrate rail, road, and water infrastructure, alongside significant investments in ports and mining beneficiation. The address also highlights the transition toward a green economy, including solar energy targets and the management of acid mine drainage, while reporting on progress in education, health, and land reform.

• The government is launching a "massive infrastructure development drive" overseen by the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission (PICC) to stimulate the economy and create jobs.
• The infrastructure plan includes five major geographically-focussed programmes, such as developing rail, road, and water infrastructure in Limpopo's Waterberg and Steelpoort areas to unlock mineral belts of coal, platinum, palladium, and chrome.
• Transnet's Market Demand Strategy involves a 300 billion rand investment over seven years, with 200 billion rand for rail and the remainder primarily for ports, including expanding the Iron Ore Export channel to 82 million tons per annum.
• To increase energy capacity and implement the Green Economy Accord, the government is pursuing renewable energy, specifically solar electricity and biofuels, with a target of one million solar geysers by 2014-2015.
• Following COP 17, the government will invest 248 million rand over two years to address Acid Mine Drainage in the Witwatersrand.
• The government reports that the unemployment rate decreased from 25% to 23.9% in the fourth quarter of 2011, with 365,000 people employed during the year.
• Land redistribution progress is noted as slow, with only 8% of the 30% target for 2014 achieved, leading to the introduction of the Green Paper on Land Reform.

APA

Zuma, J. G. (2012). SONA 2012: A “massive infrastructure development drive”. Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/news/sona-2012-a-massive-infrastructure-development-drive

Chicago

Zuma, Jacob G. SONA 2012: A “massive infrastructure development drive”. Centre for Environmental Rights, 2012. https://cer.org.za/news/sona-2012-a-massive-infrastructure-development-drive.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Zuma |first1=Jacob G |title=SONA 2012: A “massive infrastructure development drive” |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=9 February 2012 |url=https://cer.org.za/news/sona-2012-a-massive-infrastructure-development-drive |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{zuma2012sona, author = {Zuma, Jacob G}, title = {{SONA 2012: A “massive infrastructure development drive”}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2012}, month = feb, url = {https://cer.org.za/news/sona-2012-a-massive-infrastructure-development-drive}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }