Ramaphosa faces a tough test

With EFF threatening disruption, president needs to dig deep when delivering State of the Nation address on Thursday

THE State of the Nation address is a litmus test for President Cyril Ramaphosa, with the EFF threatening to disrupt it.

The address comes at a critical time with top ANC officials implicated in major scandals in the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture, the country facing a stagnant economy and job prospects being slim for millions of South Africans.

A week ago, Ramaphosa told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the country had turned a corner and was open for business.

But the question of expropriation without compensation remained on the lips of some, with Ramaphosa assuring investors everything will be done in line with the constitution.

Ramaphosa was also involved in a debate with some in his party over the mandate of the South African Reserve Bank. He and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni have maintained that the independence of the bank is sacrosanct and the issue at hand is its ownership.

Behind the policy debates in the ANC and his squabbles with former president Jacob Zuma on the wasted nine years, Ramaphosa faces a tough test of outlining a clear policy direction and tangible results.

State-owned entities are a tough sell for the government, with the cabinet to look into a proposal from a task team to unbundle Eskom and divide it into three divisions dealing with generation, distribution and transmission.

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has said a decision on Eskom’s future must be taken within a month.

However, the SOES may not be the only problem Ramaphosa has to deal with as there are serious challenges with growing the economy, creating sustainable jobs and building a strong education system.

Health and education have become the biggest expenditure in the budget. Not only is Ramaphosa expected to fix the system, he needs to fix some of the schools where children are being taught in dilapidated buildings and collapsing infrastructure.

The healthcare system is also under pressure after it emerged last year it was collapsing.

The president announced some months ago the department would be employing 5 300 health care workers with critical skills.

But the elephant in the room for Ramaphosa on Thursday when he delivers the Sona is the EFF’S threat to disrupt it.

Ramaphosa has met Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to outline his position on the payment of R500 000 for his election campaign into his son Andile’s account by Bosasa. Ramaphosa was running for the ANC presidency when the funds were deposited.

The EFF and other parties want him to come clean.

The DA has demanded the government cancel all contracts with Bosasa successor African Global Operations.

Bosasa is at the centre of the slew of allegations of bribing ministers and top government officials over many years.

But the other issue for Ramaphosa is how he wants to grow the economy. South Africa’s economy is expected to grow by 1% this year.

But Ramaphosa’s goal is to get it to 5% so that it would create more jobs.

The question of expropriation of without compensation is central to the debate as Ramaphosa wants this to be finalised urgently.

The ad hoc committee has been set up in Parliament to look at the bill to amend section 25 of the constitution. Thoko Didiza is chairperson of the ad hoc committee after the previous Constitutional Review Committee finalised its work.

Ramaphosa promised in his last address last year that he wanted to fix the justice system and various agencies.

He is expected to report back to the nation on progress made thus far.

The National Prosecuting Authority has a new boss after Shamila Batohi officially took over the reins on Friday.

However, the work in fixing the State Security Agency has not been finalised with the task team, chaired by former cabinet minister Sydney Mufamadi, not yet done with its report.

Ramaphosa seemed to have also kissed and made up with business as he has met representatives and addressed some of their functions.

Business has also promised to assist and invest in the economy following an investment summit in October last year.

Ramaphosa has been on a drive to raise $100 billion (R1.4 trillion) in the next five years, but some of the investors made commitments last year.

This would help reignite growth in the economy.

In his election campaigns and other public platforms, Ramaphosa has promised to clean up state organs and institutions.

The work done by various commissions has indicated a level of commitment. But the test is to address calls by the public and other parties to arrest people behind state capture and corruption.

The president is under pressure to ensure state security agencies remain free of political interference and they do what they are meant to do.

Ramaphosa is also expected to announce on progress made in trimming the state after he promised at the last address that he will cut the size of his cabinet and certain departments.

But that will become known after the elections in May, if the ANC wins the polls.