SONA 2023: Restore hope, build state capacity to protect and advance rights

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) provides a critique of the 2023 State of the Nation Address (SONA), arguing that the government is increasingly relying on the private sector to deliver key infrastructure and manage the energy transition, which the IEJ claims undermines state capacity and affordability for the poor.

• The IEJ expresses concern that the 2023 SONA indicates the private sector will take a leading role in delivering key infrastructure, addressing the Eskom crisis, and implementing a Just Transition, which the IEJ views as an "admission of failure by the state in delivering its mandate".
• While welcoming the National State of Disaster to address the energy crisis and the appointment of a Minister of Electricity, the IEJ warns that emergency power procurement—specifically if sourced from Karpowership—could increase greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs.
• The IEJ identifies three main drivers of Eskom's energy costs: diesel, coal, and energy from independent power producers (IPP), noting that IPP costs represent a third of primary energy costs.
• The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) is criticized for failing to balance infrastructure with job creation, as 89.4% of financing is targeted at infrastructure, while skills development and economic diversification receive only 0.1% and 0.3% respectively.
• The IEJ proposes a three-part debt solution for Eskom: the National Treasury absorbing the debt, quasi-state creditors like the GEPF writing off debt or providing interest holidays, and using international climate finance to resolve debt while preventing privatisation.
• The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant has seen a significant drop in accessibility, with 3.54 million fewer people accessing it compared to 10.9 million in March 2022, which the IEJ attributes to National Treasury capping the budget for the 2022/2023 period.
• The IEJ disputes the government's claim of a post-COVID economic recovery, noting that while 1.5 million jobs were created between Q3 2021 and 2022, 2.2 million jobs were lost in Q2 2020 according to Stats SA.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2023). SONA 2023: Restore hope, build state capacity to protect and advance rights. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/sona-2023-restore-hope-build-state-capacity-to-protect-and-advance-rights/

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. SONA 2023: Restore hope, build state capacity to protect and advance rights. 2023. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/sona-2023-restore-hope-build-state-capacity-to-protect-and-advance-rights/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=SONA 2023: Restore hope, build state capacity to protect and advance rights |date=10 February 2023 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/sona-2023-restore-hope-build-state-capacity-to-protect-and-advance-rights/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjustice2023sona, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{SONA 2023: Restore hope, build state capacity to protect and advance rights}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/sona-2023-restore-hope-build-state-capacity-to-protect-and-advance-rights/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }