BIG READ | Hidden in plain sight: 30 years of Presidency highs and bitter lows

The debate over the achievements of the Presidency as an institution over the past 30 years is a polarising one in South African society.

And with South Africa, described as the world’s most unequal society, marred by unacceptably high youth unemployment, the debate is likely to be settled by history.

But while we wait for history’s absolute findings, the Presidency has to take stock of its own performance and account to the people.

This, among other avenues, is done through mid-term reports reviewing the performance of the Presidency’s strategic plans, usually covering five years — a full term of the Presidency.

In the Presidency’s 2020–2025 strategic plans, the seventh administration listed the strategic objectives it wanted to achieve in the period:

• The establishment of Hopa (head of public administration/service);
• Driving digital transformation in government;
• Strengthening government operations to ensure the government’s ability to operationalise implementation of its programmes and deliver them effectively.
• Promoting international relations with a focus on promoting the national interest, global political engagement, and trade and investment;
• Sharpening monitoring in key government spheres to drive transformation and accountability; and
• Promoting integrity and fighting corruption.

The jury is out on what the current Presidency, under Cyril Ramaphosa and his deputy, Paul Mashatile, and to a great extent Matashile’s predecessor, the late David Mabuza, achieved against their set objectives.

The Presidency was to have furnished parliament and the department of planning, monitoring & evaluation with the end-term assessment report by the end of July. This, however, was not done. The Presidency this week sought to explain the delay in completing its report card on its performance for review by the public.

It said it was because of the “discontinuation of the appointed service provider and delays in securing a replacement to continue with the evaluation process”.

To remedy this, the Presidency has launched a new procurement process looking for a service provider to assess progress on the implementation of the Presidency’s 2025-2030 strategic plan and produce a mid-term report to monitor and evaluate the delivery of outcomes for two-and-a-half years.

The service provider will be asked to have particular reference to monitoring delivery of outcomes and impact after a period of five years, and to assess the achievement of the Presidency in the 30 years of the country’s democratic dispensation.

“The mid-term assessment report is intended to reflect performance achieved during the first two-and-a-half years of the planning cycle and provide an assessment of progress made towards the implementation of planned outcomes,” reads the request for proposals.

“In addition to the two evaluations prescribed in the guidelines, the minister requested the Presidency to also undertake a reflection on the past 30 years of the Presidency in a democratic dispensation. This analysis will serve as a valuable foundation for identifying key focus areas over the years, aligning with our objective of fulfilling the Vision 2030 goals.”

In the review of the 30 years of the department, the analysis must reflect the following:

• The best periods for the Presidency;
• The worst periods;
• Lessons learnt; and
• Where improvements can be made.

While the Presidency waits for the review to be completed, the lived experience of millions of South Africans has, in a way, delivered the report.

The Nelson Mandela presidency was marked by national reconciliation, while that of his successor, Thabo Mbeki, saw significant economic growth and infrastructure rollout.

The Mbeki presidency, which averaged 4.1% economic growth, saw South Africa’s role as a continental leader become more pronounced, with Pretoria playing “big brother” on the continent.

The blind spot of the Mbkei presidency will forever be linked to his so-called HIV/Aids “denialism”, a posture that has been blamed for severely delaying life-saving antiretroviral treatment, fuelling a public health controversy and leading to hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths.

Then came Jacob Zuma, whose presidency — despite his achievement in ramping up the rollout of antiretroviral medication, leading to a spike in the national life expectancy rates, and the expansion of the country’s higher education sector — was dominated by instances of state capture and the weakening of key state institutions.

The country was also downgraded by major rating agencies during Zuma’s tenure, with the economy hardly growing.

The economy has not fared any better under Ramaphosa, a period that has seen bad appointments at key state-owned entities, headlined by André de Ruyter at Eskom, under whose watch load-shedding worsened.

The Ramaphosa presidency has since redeemed itself with the appointment of Dan Marokane, who alongside his team and board has led to the operational turnaround of the utility.

The seventh administration has also unleashed a wave of reforms in the network industries, leading to the inclusion of private sector players in the port and rail networks.

Three things are, however, constant in the Presidency’s performance over the past 30 years: inequality, crime, poverty, corruption and weak local government have remained high. And for this, South Africans delivered their own 30-year review in the 2024 polls.

Business Times