18 February 2026

Madam Speaker,

Seventy years after women like Mama Sophie de Bruyn, and thousands more marched, I stand here as proof that their courage moved our country forward toward power and dignity for women.

Fifty years after the youth of 1976, whose courage demanded a better future with opportunity.

Thirty years into our democracy, I am living proof that a non-racial, non-sexist society is possible — but democracy cannot end at the ballot box. It must reach the mine gate, the factory floor, and the household meter.

Ten years after Fees Must Fall, the struggle continues as students at this very moment, are fighting for access to institutions of higher learning.

All these milestones culminate in this moment — our generation must build a united, prosperous South Africa with jobs and opportunities for the youth.

The President reminded us that our strength lies in our natural endowments — the minerals beneath our soil and the riches of our land — but if we remain trapped in extracting and exporting raw minerals, we are not building a democratic economy; we are managing a colonial one.

As the world shifts to green energy and clean tech, South Africa holds many of the critical minerals this transition requires, alongside world-class solar and wind resources. It is not just a statistic, it is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reindustrialise, to add value through beneficiation, and to ensure that communities where mining happens are the first to benefit, not the last to be remembered.

(As the price of our commodities rise, the question we must ask ourselves is: how can we harness this windfall to transform our economy, and to build a better future for all?)

1) Beneficiation & the Sunrise Industry

Mr President, you were correct in categorising mining as a sunrise industry. We possess what the world desperately needs: 88% of global platinum-group metals, 70% of global chromium, and 32% of global manganese.  Mining contributes some 6% of GDP, employs over 474 000 and constitutes a major portion of our exports.

In a town under the shadow of a chrome mine, Nomsa watched trucks leave each day — heavy with ore, light on hope. The wealth beneath their feet left raw, and returned as expensive goods they could barely afford.

Then policy changed — and a furnace rose. Chrome became ferrochrome, ferrochrome became stainless steel, and suddenly work appeared where there was only waiting: apprenticeships, shifts, workshops, suppliers, paychecks. Ccommunity ownership models turned Nomsa’s mining town into a development zone.

Her brother became an apprentice. Her mother’s spaza shop became a supplier. And at home, holding a stainless-steel spoon made from their own ground resources,

Nomsa understood: beneficiation is when a country stops exporting its future — and starts building dignity.

Our resources must not be an input to a system that generates wealth in other countries. They must be the foundation of a developmental economic model that works for South Africa.

Honourable Members, as the President outlined, the ANC led department is working to seize this opportunity:

• By modernising the mining cadastral system we can unlock R 30 billion in new investment
• Increasing the speed of licensing and removing corruption and bottlenecks
• Increasing funding for geological mapping and exploration, and supporting junior miners to expand
• Preserving existing industrial capacity in downstream industries and supporting them to expand and create jobs

Madam Speaker,

2) Energy Security & Affordability

We appreciate the stability that has been brought to Eskom and the hard work that has enabled us to end load shedding. Our energy availability factor has risen to over 65% from an all time low of 48% previously.

However as the ANC, we must be honest about the next fight: affordability.

What does “energy security” mean if working-class households sit in the dark because of:

• the high cost of power,
• load reduction,
• illegal connections,
• collapsing transformers,
• and municipal distribution failure?

President, the commitment to eradicate load reduction by next year must be treated as a binding delivery target, not a talking point.

And in the same breath, we must confront the cost-of-living crisis. Electricity prices are too high for many township and rural households. This affordability crisis must be dealt with comprehensively.

Indigent programmes must be strengthened:

• The Free Basic Electricity grant must be increased from 50 to 150 kw to reduce energy poverty
• Innovative off-grid small scale energy solutions must be rolled out
• Addressing the municipal debt crisis and fixing the distribution systems must be prioritised

That is why the reform of our energy system is so important – to provide cheaper power for every South African. By introducing competition and enabling investment in a diverse energy mix, we can bring down costs while ensuring a reliable supply into the future. Minister Ramokgopa and his team must be commended on their sterling work in this regard.

(3) Build the Grid

As we build transmission and distribution capacity, it cannot become another import binge. Grid expansion must be tied to local manufacturing — cables, transformers and switchgear — with clear localisation thresholds and industrial finance that turns infrastructure spend into factories, jobs and skills.

And as we plan the energy mix, the IRP must lead. A just transition must also be a just industrialisation pathway. That means developing the gas sector urgently to avoid the gas cliff — securing reliable, cost-competitive supply for power and for beneficiation, without South Africans paying premium prices while others pocket the profits.)

4) On Youth

Madam Speaker, we must also recognise progress:

• The Presidential Employment Stimulus has created 2.5 million opportunities;
• R2.5 billion is set aside to support 180,000+ SMEs prioritising women- and youth-led businesses;
• The YES programme has placed 200,000+ young people work experience.
• We welcome the shift to a skills revolution — dual training, stronger TVETs, streamlined SETAs, returning 40% of the skills levy to employers,

President Ramaphosa, let me speak plainly as a young woman in this Parliament. The youth of South Africa are done begging for a place in an economy built on our exclusion. We were told: be patient, wait your turn — but you cannot feed a generation with patience.

So here is the demand from us as young people: treat youth unemployment like a national emergency — not with speeches, but with state power. With a war-time approach that mobilises every department, public entity, municipality and every private company in this country with targets, timelines, and consequences.

And we are done with an economy of extraction. No licence without beneficiation. No tender without youth jobs. No incentive without training and decent work.

And to the young people watching: Your struggle is the struggle of this Republic. We are not asking for charity — we are demanding justice.

Now let’s build: minerals into factories, megawatts into paychecks, and freedom into a future — now.

Let us be remembered as the generation that created a thriving economy built on abundant, low-cost energy and a society that works for all. Let us turn our mineral riches into a diverse economy, our schools and universities into centres of opportunity. Let us turn freedom into dignity — now.

I thank you.