South Africans should present a united front in the face of harsh global headwinds and should not go rushing overseas to make complaints, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday in his reply to the National Assembly debate on his state of the nation address.
Without specifically mentioning US President Donald Trump’s executive order condemning what it said were SA’s racially discriminatory policies against Afrikaners and its offer of refugee status to members of that community, Ramaphosa said that “at a time like this, we need to stand united as a nation, particularly now when we are facing [a] harsh global wind”.
“This is not the time for any of us to rush off to foreign lands to lay complaints about issues that we can solve ourselves in our country. We need SA solutions to SA problems,” Ramaphosa said.
“While there are many diverse and different voices in our society, we must strive to convey a common message. We must say to our people and to the world that we are committed to work together to build a society in which all South Africans are free and equal.”
The Solidarity Movement — which condemns the recently signed Expropriation Act that prompted Trump’s measures — plans to send a delegation to the US later this month to share its concerns about government laws and policies with US political representatives.
The movement, which welcomed the US pressure, is highly critical of what it sees as race-based laws such as affirmative action and broad-based BEE.
Ramaphosa was also adamant that the government of national unity (GNU) would not be diverted from the path it had set out on and would “not be bullied” from its intent to work together. Despite the differences between GNU member parties, they were working well together.
“We are finding ways of mediating our differences and remain focused on the actions that we are all committed to undertake,” he said.
The government remained committed, he said, to its economic empowerment and transformation programmes to redress the harmful legacy of apartheid.
These included the proposed R100bn transformation fund, which he said would provide financial and nonfinancial support to black-owned enterprises to ensure their “meaningful participation” in the economy.
“These policies are about eradicating the differences that still exist in our society, not entrenching them. They are about empowering those who have been disempowered and protecting the rights of all.”
The president spent some time in his speech dealing with the horrors of apartheid and the 1913 Native Land Act, which deprived millions of black South Africans of their land. The repercussions are still being endured and there had to be redress and transformation to create an equal society, he said.
Reflecting on the debate, Ramaphosa said some speakers held firm to the “denialism and distortions” demanded by their party positions.
“This debate illustrated the dangers of retreating to corners, isolating ourselves in ideological, cultural, racial and linguistic enclaves and hardly ever engaging beyond our immediate circles.
“This is not conducive to nation-building in a situation like ours, where diverse people live side by side. This is what makes the forthcoming national dialogue so important.
“The journey we are embarking upon now through the national dialogue will result in concrete processes to become a more united and stronger SA in the face of many political, social and economic challenges, both globally and locally.”
In dealing with the Expropriation Act, Ramaphosa said the constitution prohibited the arbitrary deprivation of property and required just and equitable compensation to be paid in the event of expropriation for a public purpose or in the public interest.
“Our experience of forced removals also explains the constitutional requirement that the state must take reasonable measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis.”
He said that the president was obliged to assent to bills if there were no reservations about its constitutionality.
“The constitution does not permit that the act of assent by the president be subject to negotiation or to the terms of an agreement between parties. The president must ultimately make a determination in line with the constitution.”
Ramaphosa also emphasised the important role of local government for business and said “a razor-sharp focus” was needed on its capacity to deliver essential services.
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