BHISHO- The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the Eastern Cape has announced that its eight Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) will not attend Thursday’s State of the Province Address (SOPA).
In a statement issued on 26 February 2026, the party said the decision followed “careful consideration of the situation in our province, the historical contribution of this eventand the nature of the current Premier of the province.”
The EFF accused Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane of turning the annual address into what it described as a “’self-praise session’, arguing that the platform no longer serves its intended purpose of honestly reflecting on the state of the province.
According to the party, the Eastern Cape remains plagued by collapsing infrastructure, rising unemployment and poverty, deteriorating access to quality education and failures in basic service delivery.
“It is our contention that today’s SOPA will serve as nothing more than a self-praise session by Oscar Mabuyane,” the statement reads. “It will signify another failure to seize an important moment to truly reflect on the state of affairs in our province.”
The EFF further criticised the event as having become a ‘political fashion show‘, claiming that what should be a strategic and accountable gathering has been reduced to displays of opulence funded by the public purse.
The party also pointed to protests by unemployed doctors outside the SOPA venue as a stark illustration of the province’s challenges.“
As things stand, outside the venue where this SOPA is happening, unemployed doctors are protesting. This is how far we have fallen to a point where professions that are meant to inspire the rest of us to pursue education rigorously are plagued by unemployment, corruption, and maladministration,” the statement said.
The EFF maintained that these pressing issues would not receive adequate attention during the Premier’s address and said it would not “be party to that”.
The party said its MPLs would instead use the official SOPA debate in the legislature to outline what it called the “real state of the province”.
“The real SOPA will be delivered by MPLs representing the EFF during the debate on the state of our province,” the statement read.
The EFF also alleged that the 2026 address could be used as a soft launch for the African National Congress (ANC)’s Local Government Elections campaign, describing the event as a ‘mini-ANC gathering’.
“The EFF MPLs and members therefore will not be in attendance,” the party concluded.
The State of the Province Address is expected to outline the provincial government’s priorities and plans for the year ahead.
Photograph: supplied
