Lex Libertas publishes ‘Honest SONA 2026’

The think tank and advocacy group, Lex Libertas, today published its own version of the 2026 State of the Nation Address, titled “Honest SONA 2026: Addressing the Crisis, the Symptoms and the Root Cause.” The speech addresses the issues which, according to Lex Libertas, President Cyril Ramaphosa ought to confront in this evening’s State of the Nation Address.

The speech, written by Dr Ernst Roets, Executive Director of Lex Libertas, is a thought experiment in which the President of South Africa delivers an honest assessment of the country’s condition — without political softening, blame-shifting or self-justification.

The speech distinguishes between the visible symptoms of South Africa’s crisis — including unemployment, crime, corruption, state decay, failures in education and the fiscal cliff — and the deeper underlying root cause, namely a centralised political system that has become increasingly disconnected from the country’s diverse communities.

The speech proposes two levels of intervention:

• Ten short-term measures to limit immediate damage, including deregulation, the repeal of exclusionary race legislation, the protection of property rights, the decisive prosecution of corruption, and energy market reform.
• Structural reform through decentralisation and the promotion of self-governance, with recognition of communities’ right to exercise greater control over their own affairs.

According to Lex Libertas, the purpose of the document is not to provoke polemics, but to stimulate a serious and honest conversation about the sustainability of South Africa’s current political dispensation.

• The full speech can be read here.

Lex Libertas is a think tank and advocacy group working towards a viable political order in South Africa, based on the principles of freedom, decentralisation and self-governance.

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