Extract It is disappointing when a great voyage hits the rocks or when the magic fades from a beautiful love story. Gloom is inevitable and reality can be harsh. On Thursday night, the whirlwind romance between SA and President Cyril Ramaphosa withered when expectations of an action-driven government came to nought.
His rise to the presidency has been swathed in general goodwill and relief that the highest office had been released from the clutches of a criminal syndicate. Many people voted for Ramaphosa because they distinguished him from the rot-infested ANC and saw him as the country’s great hope to free us from a perpetual cycle of decay and despair.
It was not that Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address was awful. It was a bland statement of intent without anything tangible to peg it on. The speech revealed the absence of design behind Ramaphosa’s presidency. Even though his heart is in the right place, he does not really have a proper plan of action to arrest the economic and social decline and turn around the country's fortunes.
Ramaphosa himself acknowledged that it was time to focus on implementation of policy and pledges. Yet, in the 6,350-word address, it is difficult to find solid execution plans, time frames for delivery and projected markers for successful implementation.
Take for example Ramaphosa’s intention to create “no fewer than 2-million new jobs for young people within the next decade”.
It was not that Ramaphosa's state of the nation address was awful. It was a bland statement of intent without anything tangible to peg it on
— Ranjeni Munusamy
How? Was there any methodology to compute the number of jobs to be created in 10 years, or was this a random projection?
All Ramaphosa said was that a comprehensive plan would be driven and co-ordinated from the presidency and would work across the government in partnership with the private sector. But what is this plan? What will it do that has not been done yet? What kind of jobs will it create?
Ramaphosa asked the nation to unite around five goals for the next 10 years, including that no person in the country should go hungry and the economy should grow at a faster rate than the population. “Let us make these commitments now – to ourselves and to each other – knowing that they will stretch our resources and capabilities,” he said.
But what exactly is the president asking us citizens to do?
He cannot issue a general call to arms without spelling out his expectations. Otherwise, saying we all need to make the economy grow faster than the population could be interpreted to mean we should stop having children.
LISTEN | The June 2019 Sona in 5 minutes
Other than putting Ace Magashule in his place by affirming the mandate and independence of the Reserve Bank, and announcing R230bn in government support to alleviate Eskom’s financial woes, little new came out of the speech.
EFF leader Julius Malema pointed out that there was hardly applause in the House, even from the ANC benches, because nothing of real substance was announced.
At a time of national crisis, with all indicators of economic performance and living standards pointing downwards, how was it possible that a presidential address to the nation lasting about an hour and 20 minutes could be devoid of a concrete implementation programme? There should, at least, have been details and clarity on hot-button issues such as state-owned enterprises and land reform.
Ramaphosa announced the unbundling of Eskom in the February state of the nation address, but said absolutely nothing about it now. There is so much riding on how the Eskom restructuring process will unfold, and yet it did not feature.
Last week’s cabinet lekgotla was presented with various task- team reports on the power utility. Bizarrely, Ramaphosa did not share any of the findings or recommendations.
He also did not say what is to happen with the cash-strapped national carrier, SAA, which is gagging for further rescue funding.
Ramaphosa mentioned he had received the report of the presidential advisory panel on land reform and agriculture, but gave no insight into its contents.
Accelerated land reform could be a flagship programme of his presidency, yet there is still dawdling on the issue. Meanwhile, people are hungry for land and investors worry about committing to the country when the land policy is unclear.
It is great to have a president with lofty dreams and who inspires the nation to think out of the box. Ramaphosa spoke of his desire for post-apartheid SA’s first new city founded on technologies of the fourth industrial revolution and bullet trains whooshing around the country.
But how can we consider investing in building a new, smart city when existing cities and towns across the country are dysfunctional and badly managed, or aspire to high-speed trains when we lack a basic, safe public transport system?
Ramaphosa says he has heard the frustrations of South Africans and his administration will focus on addressing these.
However, his speech showed there is still a disconnect and failure to appreciate the level of restlessness in the country.
This was a political moment that required a defining address to the nation.
But our nation remains adrift, and clearly nobody, including our president, knows how to get us on course.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.