The Iranti-organisation says it is disappointed at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s silence on issues facing the LGBTQI+ community during his State of The Nation Address (Sona). Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Thursday where he highlighted challenges faced by the country and announced some measures to improve the lives of South Africans. He also touched on gender-based violence. Iranti is an organisation formed to help local and regional lesbian, trans, intersex and gender non-conforming (LTIGNC) movements in South Africa and across the continent. The organisation has been part of a campaign in the lead up to the Sona where they asked members of the queer community to express what they want Ramaphosa to say. “We do not feel heard, this was just yet another Sona where the LGBTQI+ community was not explicitly mentioned, the issues facing the community were not addressed by the president at all in his speech despite our #queersonadigital campaign which we ran the entire week proceeding to Sona. This tells us that we continue to remain invisible to the state and the highest office in the land,” said Iranti spokesperson Nolwazi Tusini in a broadcast interview on Saturday.