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MISA demands less talk and more action

Feb 13, 2026 MISA, the Motor Industry Staff Association, Martle Keyter, Cyril Ramaphosa, State of the Nation Address (SONA)

MISA demands less talk and more action

South Africans cannot survive on speeches, recycled plans and promises that never deliver and that is why MISA, the Motor Industry Staff Association, demands delivery with clear timelines, measurable targets, funded implementation plans and consequences for failure from President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“We can’t tolerate another year of hardship for workers and their families. We demand the promise of “a better life for all” made 32 years ago in the 1994 general elections,” says Martlé Keyter, MISA’s Chief Executive Officer: Operations in response to Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered in Parliament yesterday.

According to the President the first five South Africa Investment Conferences raised R1.5 trillion in investment commitments. He promised to raise the target to R2 trillion in new investments over the next five years. “Despite these investment commitments workers are still waiting for decent jobs. Unemployment is a national emergency. Government must stop selling hope and start producing jobs, because millions of people who want to work are sitting at home with nothing,” says Keyter.

MISA acknowledges the improved matric pass rate, but Government must stop celebrating statistics while youth unemployment skyrocketed and thousands of capable learners are locked out of their futures. There are not enough university and colleges. More than 700 000 Matric’s qualified with a Bachelor pass last year, yet public universities can only absorb 230 000 first year students overall. Just the University of Johannesburg (UJ) alone received over 450 000 applications for its 2026 intake. “The President cannot promise to expand opportunities for young people to enter institutions of higher learning without a concrete plan with dates, budgets and new capacity on the ground,” says Keyter.

MISA rejects the claim that “great progress” has been made in prosecuting State Capture. The convictions achieved by the National Prosecution Authority are insignificant compared to the scale of State Capture. Most of the prosecutions have faced numerous setbacks and delays.

“MISA is outraged by the ongoing scourge of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). Declaring GBVF a national disaster must not become another announcement with no follow-through. We demand urgent, properly funded implementation: stronger policing and investigation capacity, survivor-centred services, effective prosecution and prevention programmes that actually work in communities because women’s lives depend on it,” says Keyter.

She highlights that MISA demands less talk and more action. “South Africans are tired of being asked to be patient while unemployment, failing services and crime destroy lives. Government must publish implementation plans, deadlines and measurable outcomes and report regularly so that working people can track delivery and hold leaders accountable for results,” says Keyter.

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