South Africa is about to endure another state of the nation address (Sona). Best to prepare for Sona nostalgia — no need for popcorn.
This Sona will probably be full of the usual, tired promises: more jobs, better crime fighting and endless renewal. It’s a script repeated so many times we all know it by heart.
For more than 30 years successive presidents have been singing from the same hymn book. Every year, more citizens are in dire straits: the poor are getting poorer, while unemployment among the young, the educated and women has hit soul-crushing highs.
But watch. As the 2026 local government elections approach, a familiar political circus will crisscross the land. Politicians will rediscover their magic tricks. They will stage clean-ups, kiss babies in squatter camps and distribute T-shirts and KFC buckets like talismans. The hollow anthem for votes, “our people”, will reverberate all over the country.
Let’s be blunt: South Africa’s economy has stalled. The government can no longer deliver on the basic social contract — jobs, housing, water, lights, health, schools, proper roads, safety and dignity.
Then there is the budget speech. I can bet my last rand the finance minister will praise minor victories, ignoring the vast landscape of failure where millions of unemployed South Africans live.
Let’s be blunt: South Africa’s economy has stalled. The government can no longer deliver on the basic social contract — jobs, housing, water, lights, health, schools, proper roads, safety and dignity.
It’s not ideology; it’s arithmetic. Unemployment is more than 33%. Youth joblessness is a national disaster, not a statistic. Local governments, the very layer meant to serve, are emblems of collapse: dry taps, dark streets and piles of uncollected trash. Crime and corruption aren’t just challenges anymore; they’re an alternative operating system.
The state is simply out of its depth. When a government cannot execute, a society has two choices: adapt or decline. We must adapt. And that requires naming an uncomfortable, pragmatic solution: corpocracy. This is not a corporate takeover. It is a proposal for a new government of national unity, a GNU 2.0, where business co-governs under the state’s laws and oversight.
We’ve already seen a glimpse of this logic. Look at Transnet: a state entity pulled back from the brink not by a government memo, but by corporate skill and discipline. Operation Vulindlela’s quiet wins are proof of concept.
When a government cannot execute, a society has two choices: adapt or decline. We must adapt. And that requires naming an uncomfortable, pragmatic solution: corpocracy.
The private sector operates on efficiency, data and consequence. It builds and maintains because failure has real costs. The uncomfortable truth is that the state cannot execute. It is overwhelmed and, in places, captured.
Meanwhile, a parallel reality hums along. It’s time to formally invite that capability into governance. Not a takeover, but a co-governance pact. Consider this pragmatically. Who can fix a municipality’s broken water plant? A competent engineering firm, incentivised by performance contracts.
Job creation at scale
Who can create jobs at scale? Businesses, spurred by direct, audited tax incentives for every net new hire, not vague BEE funds. Who can reform education? Corporations that co-design curricula for the skills they desperately need, guaranteeing work placements.
Corpocracy offers structural solutions where political rhetoric has failed. Merge corporate security intelligence with policing to create safer cities. Implement private-sector procurement technology into public projects to combat corruption. Unlock pension funds through blended finance to build infrastructure that our empty fiscus cannot.
This model is rational. Look at India. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a relentless partnership with major private groups has fuelled a historic economic rise. The US leverages its corporate muscle for global competition. This is the playbook for modern states that want to win.
Imagine a 50-year compact: business brings capital and execution; government sets vision and retains authority. Together, they target the sectors of the future — green energy, artificial intelligence, critical minerals — with smart, aggressive tax laws to spark an investment boom.
The alternative is another repetitive Sona about more empty promises. It’s time for a government of national urgency, powered by a pragmatic pact with business.
The goal isn’t to sell our democracy. It’s to save it by getting the lights on, the water flowing and our people working.
• Lourie is founder and editor of TechFinancials.
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