President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address (Sona) was uninspiring and lacked a detailed plan to take Africa’s most industrialised economy out of the “depressing situation” it is in, labour federations said on Friday.
They said they are growing frustrated with the government’s lackadaisical approach to addressing the country’s socioeconomic crisis.
Ramaphosa announced a state of disaster to deal with the load-shedding crisis which is crippling economic activity. Thursday’s Sona was punctuated by promises to address the energy crisis, including appointing a minister of electricity to be housed in the president’s office and attending to economic growth and infrastructure development.
The country’s labour federations including the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) and the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) are among the social partners at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), the country’s policy formulating statutory body.
They called on government to address the slow economic growth, the high unemployment rate of 32.9%, and rising inflation that has resulted in a sharp increase in the cost of living.
The National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), an affiliate of Cosatu, said it was disappointed Ramaphosa had failed to mention anything about filling vacancies in the civil service. “As Nehawu, we demand the filling of vacancies to capacitate the state to deliver services to the people,” said general secretary Zola Saphetha.
Saphetha said the Sona lacked comprehensive vision and a detailed plan to take the country and its people “out of this depressing situation”. Instead, he said, “we heard the same old promises and nothing new or inspiring”.
“We reiterate our rejection of the structural reforms in energy, rail and ports as nothing but a neoliberal attempt to bring capital into the public sector of utilities,” he said.
He said his union also opposed any attempt to create private sector monopolies in the delivery of public goods which are not meant to be profitable commodities.
“The electricity crisis in 2022 led to 3,486 hours of load-shedding that equates to 145 days of blackouts. The impact of indecisiveness in government in managing the crisis has been devastating on our society and economy.”
Nehawu condemned the creation of a new ministry of electricity, saying it seemed to be a continuation of using the state to address party factional divisions.
Reuben Maleka, assistant GM of the Public Servants Association, an affiliate of Fedusa representing more than 235,000 public servants, said: “The president’s silence on public service challenges is extremely disappointing. He [Ramaphosa] is clearly not very concerned about the state of public institutions such as hospitals, schools, and government departments suffering from chronic staff shortages and operating with less than 60% of the required human resources.”
Welcoming the state of disaster, Maleka said it should not be used to “loot state coffers” as was evident during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Though the president has correctly indicated that the country’s greatest weaknesses are in state-owned enterprises and local government, he failed to acknowledge that cadre deployment of corrupt, unskilled, and unqualified officials contributed to this problem”.
Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the Sona mimicked the “economic frameworks of neoliberal capitalism that the ANC is so committed to”. “They promise development only if it guarantees the private sector opportunities for accumulation. The working class organisations must unite to co-ordinate a protracted struggle in response,” he said.
Vavi said Saftu was doubtful that any of the promises Ramaphosa made during Sona would be kept. “And like all within the working class, we are disgusted that he is once again showing his pro-corporate bias.”
Vavi said the energy plan outlined by the president on Thursday night was riddled with solutions seeking to privatise energy provision in SA.
Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the Sona “is useful only if the budget funds it”.
“The 2023/2024 budget to be tabled in parliament on February 22 needs to speak to the commitments announced in the Sona and then be matched by clear implementation time frames by the respective departments,” said Pamla.
He said Ramaphosa’s administration does not have the luxury of time to show its commitment because “the electorate will be rendering its verdict in the national and provincial elections in 15 months’ time.”
Cosatu, part of the ANC-led tripartite alliance, said it noted the various commitments Ramaphosa made to reduce and end load-shedding, including the declaration of a state of disaster.
“The economy cannot grow and jobs will not be created if load-shedding is not eliminated. We expect to see real progress in the next six months, we do not have the luxury of 24 months.”
Pamla said it was “alarming” that the department of cooperative governance & traditional affairs (Cogta) and SA Local Government Association (Salga) had offered “nothing tangible to rebuild collapsing municipalities”.
Salga is an employer body representing the country’s 257 municipalities, most of which are hamstrung by rampant corruption, fraud, maladministration, and irregular and unauthorised expenditure, which often result in poor service delivery to communities.
In his address, Ramaphosa said his administration had set a new investment target of mobilising R2-trillion by 2028. The previous target of R1.2-trillion was set five years ago and that target was “firmly within sight.”
“Cosatu welcomes the commitment to mobilise R2-trillion to stimulate the economy but such commitments by both the public and private sectors need to be monitored,” Pamla said. “We want assurance that these commitments include the creation of jobs and decent work. The banking, financial, mining, retail, manufacturing and hospitality sectors need to play their part in creating jobs and reducing the apartheid wage gap.”
Business Unity SA CEO Cas Coovadia said the lobby group believed the appointment of a minister for electricity “is a bad idea that will add to the confusion and turf wars rather than solve the problem”.
“It is yet another example of failure to take bold decisions and opting instead for the soft but expensive option of adding another ministry rather than holding those ministers responsible for the crisis accountable,” Coovadia said.
“Business is concerned about the potential of a repeat of corruption we saw under the Covid-19 state of disaster, though we welcome the announcement that the Auditor-General will oversee use of resources.” He said one of the positive ideas from Ramaphosa was the indication that he will establish a structure for social partners to engage on the energy crisis.
North West University Business School economist Prof Raymond Parsons said the Sona confirmed that the energy crisis now weighs heavily on SA’s economic and business prospects.
“To get a bigger, stronger and better economy the Sona ‘message’ therefore needs speedy implementation to help build confidence and credibility in ways that acknowledge the centrality of the private sector in the solutions.”
Parsons said a strong theme in the Sona was the need to boost fixed investment to encourage faster growth and job creation, including higher targets for the next Presidential Investment Conference.
“The reality is that the percentage of total fixed investment is now only 14% of GDP, having fallen from about 19% a few years ago. It is now widely accepted that sustained GDP growth rates of beyond 2% required for inclusive growth in SA eventually need total fixed capital formation support of about 25% of GDP,” he said.
“It therefore remains important that the plans and projects outlined in the Sona are implemented in a manner that minimises policy uncertainty and maximises continuity to underpin investor confidence.”
mkentanel@businesslive.co.za
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