President Cyril Ramaphosa is this week scheduled to outline the priorities of the government of national unity (GNU) over the medium term when he presents his first state of the nation address (Sona) as leader of the coalition government on Thursday.
Market watchers will be assessing Sona for clear signals of the GNU’s commitment to accelerating reforms that spur economic growth. The GNU, together with organised business, has set an ambitious growth target of 3% by the end of this year.
The Sona is also expected to provide the outcomes of last week’s extended cabinet lekgotla, where the Medium-Term Development Plan was discussed.
The lekgotla was preceded by policy tensions between the ANC and the DA, with DA leader John Steenhuisen noting that implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI) in its current format remains a red line for his party.
Business Day understands no compromise was reached during the lekgotla on NHI, with the matter set to be discussed at the GNU clearing house and subsequent cabinet meetings over the next month.
In his annual address, the president typically highlights what he sees as the achievements of government, points to challenges and outlines interventions for the coming financial year. Significant events this year will include SA’s presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) and its hosting of the summit in Joburg in November.
Ramaphosa’s Sona marks the official start of the parliamentary programme and sets out the government’s policy objectives and deliverables for the year ahead.
A key watchpoint for the upcoming week in parliament is the joint meeting between the portfolio committee on trade, industry & competition and the standing committee on finance, where all major banks will appear before them. The SA Reserve Bank, Prudential Authority Institute, Financial Sector Conduct Authority, the Banking Association SA, Standard Bank, FNB, Absa, Investec, Nedbank and Capitec have all confirmed their attendance.
The chair of the portfolio committee on trade, industry & competition, Mzwandile Masina, said in a statement that the meeting is aimed at understanding the banks’ credit lending practices for production and consumption purposes, as well as progress in contributing towards transformation of the economy.
With the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) set to continue this week, the diplomatic fallout between SA and Rwanda is likely to be a key watchpoint.
SA authorities remain positive that the fallout will subside, with the department of international relations & co-operation’s head of public diplomacy, Clayson Monyela, saying the diplomatic channels of engagement remain open between the two countries.
Rwanda is facing international pressure to withdraw its troops from the eastern DRC and halt its support of the M23 rebel group, with the UN, France, Germany and the UK all noting their disapproval of its actions.
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