A need to meet expectations

ON MAY 24, 1994, Nelson Mandela, the first president of a democratic South Africa, mounted the podium in the National Assembly of Parliament to deliver what has become one of the prime institutions of our new democracy: the State of the Nation address.

It was a time for healing and reconciliation in a country that had experienced more than 300 years of brutality, deprivation, poverty and heartache – and Mandela, with his wonderful sense of occasion, delivered a speech to fit that occasion.

“The time will come,” he said, “when our nation will honour the memory of all the sons, the daughters, the mothers, the fathers, the youth and the children who, by their thoughts and deeds, gave us the right to assert with pride that we are South Africans, that we are Africans and that we are citizens of the world.”

Since that historic day in 1994, there have been 23 State of the Nation addresses. Tomorrow, President Jacob Zuma will deliver the 24th.

Every president has had to overcome challenges. The Mandela administration wrestled with reconciliation, and reconstruction and development. Thabo Mbeki’s government had to contend with the challenge of Aids. Kgalema Motlanthe’s administration had to rebuild confidence after the shock of Mbeki’s ousting. Zuma’s problems revolved around a global economy in a tailspin, which threatened to drag South Africa down with it.

To complicate matters, the focus of his administration has been deflected far too often over issues of corruption.

But despite all the unresolved problems, there is one thing that must never be forgotten: the State of the Nation address belongs to every South African – from a gogo living in a shack in an informal settlement to a factory worker, and to a farmer, and to everyone in between.

It gives our government the opportunity to report back – and it enables us to decide whether it has met, and is continuing to meet, our expectations.

On the eve of his 2017 State of the Nation address, Zuma persuaded labour, business and civil society to work together to tackle our most difficult economic problems. It is a significant achievement – a first before a State of the Nation address.

We welcome this development – and we call on all South Africans to unite behind efforts to help the country rise to its true potential.