President must walk his talk
THE State of the Nation Address (Sona) for 2019 has come and gone.
Yes, the pomp and ceremony – which have become an annual ritual – may have vanished, but the substance of what President Cyril Ramaphosa said remains with us.
And it is that substance against which his tenure in office and that of the government he leads – should it retain power after the national elections in May – will be judged. Let us look at some of the broader themes he touched on.
But before we do, it must be said that Ramaphosa’s start of the Sona was a master stroke. The joke he cracked about Julius Malema broke the ice and charmed the latter and the EFF into co-operating on the day. It was refreshing to have a Sona where we listened to the speech from beginning to end without any commotion or interruption from our honourable Members of the House.
His emphasis on early childhood development and the decision to migrate it from Social Development to Basic Education is good news for the country and our children.
Unemployment among the young and old is a major challenge in our country. The desperation of an able-bodied parent who cannot provide for his/her children because they cannot find work is painful to see. So is the sight of unemployed graduates who, hoping to improve their families’ lot after graduation or completion of their studies, cannot find jobs.
It was therefore encouraging to hear the president talking about doubling the number of jobs which were agreed upon at last year’s jobs summit. Job creation has become an extremely urgent imperative – for government, business and the labour sector.
The message on confronting corruption was unequivocal. Presiding over a party that has in the recent past been lukewarm in condemning corrupting, it was a bold move by Ramaphosa to acknowledge that corruption and mismanagement have severely damaged many state-owned companies.
With the kind of allegations of corruption being made at the Zondo Commission, it is clear this scourge must be dealt with decisively or risk the rating of ours as a credible state. Ramaphosa has promised to stabilize and restore the credibility of state institutions such as the National Prosecuting Authority and the South African Revenue Service. The independence and credibility of these institutions were dented in the recent past and we need to restore public trust in them.We are equally inspired that finally Eskom is being fixed. Apart from the mismanagement and corruption that has compromised what was once a beacon of light among power utilities on our continent (and in the world), ideology has also stood in the way of what needs to be done to fix Eskom.
A Sona address is and should be our collective nationhood and is supposed to unite us. Ramaphosa’s speech on this front, particularly towards the end when he called out the names of the leaders of each political party and challenged them to work with him in growing an inclusive economy.
There were many bold promises made and one hopes that these will be followed up with action. If they aren’t, the Sona address will be as significant as the fashion that was paraded on the day: a mere public spectacle that soon disappears. Pastor Ray McCauley is president of the Rhema Family Churchers and co-chairperson of the National Religious Leaders Council (NRLC)