‘ENOUGH WITH FEEL-GOOD SONAS’
A MAMMOTH task awaits President Cyril Ramaphosa as he delivers his State of the Nation Address (Sona) to 7.8 million unemployed South Africans who will want to hear about the Basic Income Grant (BIG).
Amid increasing petrol prices, economic inequality, poverty and the R350 Social Relief Distress (SRD) grant expected to expire next month, advocacy groups will also be waiting for Ramaphosa to make declarations on its extension.
The Sona will be held at the Cape Town City Hall, with motorists and pedestrians urged to expect several parking restrictions and temporary road closures in and around the venue until February 16.
Around 300 MPs are expected to attend. Human rights organisation Black Sash said the SRD grant had to remain in place.
“The Black Sash is advocating that the R350 SRD grant be extended, improved and increased to at least the Food Poverty Line, which is currently R624.
“The SRD grant must remain in place until the government phases in a permanent Basic Income Support programme for those aged 18 to 59 years with little to no income, while the government works towards a universal basic income,” said the organisation's Oboitshepo Seleka.
UWC political analysts, Keith Gottschalk said the SRD grant would in turn require a 1% tax hike for the wealthiest.
“These days, public expectations about Sona are muted, because so little implementation followed previous years' Sona addresses. For the unemployed 46% of South Africans, their top concern will be whether or not the R350 monthly Social Relief of Distress grants will continue. Ultimately, this will in turn require a 1% tax hike for the wealthiest.
“Other South Africans want to hear if there will be any prosecutions following the July 2021 looting, and sabotage of cellphone towers,” Gottschalk said.
Cosatu spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla said that the government needed to acknowledge that the deepening socio-economic crises in South Africa was due to “the misguided macroeconomic policy framework that has been implemented over the years”.
“We expect to hear about progress since the last Sona, in 2021, on the government's interventions to rebuild the state, tackle corruption, grow the economy, create jobs, and roll out the vaccines.
“Workers expect the president to announce plans for his government to move away from economic policies that are suffocating the economy and that have left half the adult working population unemployed,“said Pamla.
The United Association of South Africa (Uasa) said the Sona was Ramaphosa's chance “to win back the trust of the nation”.
“South Africans are overwhelmed by the knowledge that the government and the state failed us miserably on so many levels.
“The nation has had enough of Ramaphosa's familiar ‘feel-good' addresses; instead, we demand answers and sustainable plans for the year and the future. We have had enough of job summits and costly initiatives in the hope of attracting investors, with no concrete results,“it said.
There are also growing calls for Ramaphosa to clarify policies on the employment of foreign nationals.
This follows concerns over the prioritisation of foreign nationals in certain fields.
Director at the School of Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University, Professor Zwelinzima Ndevu, said another focus areas would be education.
“Education will also be a feature of the speech, on how do we improve the quality and broaden access.
“Another area will be how we find a permanent solution to the energy crisis, what are the practical plans to create jobs, the issue of the widening gap of inequality, economic reform and how do we deal with corruption and, lastly, the state of safety and security in the country,” said Ndevu.
Premier Alan Winde said: “We hope to hear from him on a number of important areas that will enable us to fight the pandemic of unemployment in the Western Cape, and South Africa.”
FORGET your dreams of smart cities and bullet trains which you have spectacularly failed to deliver, Mr President, and wake up.
Our country is burning and it seems that you, the captain of the ship, will wake up only when ashes are left.
Today's State of the Nation Address (Sona) comes at a time when the country is yearning for decisive leadership, something that has been missing since you took the reins. At that time, many will remember how desperate our country was for change. So much has happened since then, but very little for the good, unfortunately.
The inequality gap has widened, unemployment, especially among the youth and black women is alarmingly high, the fight against corruption appears to be long lost and violence against women and children is a pandemic on its own. Some of the issues pre-date the Covid-19 pandemic, so using that and state capture as an excuse is beating a dead horse.
Worryingly, more and more blackowned businesses are shutting down and you and the minister of small business are missing in action.
The July unrest and the subsequent expert panel report released this week paint a bleak picture that might leave some convinced that we are fast becoming a failed state.
We hope never to get to this point but those who believe this might have a valid reason to do so.
It's your government that has failed South Africans, especially the poor, in many ways. You have hardly delivered on any of your promises and this has characterised how your administration responds to problems in the country.
Some have even argued that you have delegated your responsibilities by establishing task teams and commissions of inquiry, paid for by the public purse, when you could have simply acted.
We know that you have not implemented any of the recommendations contained in the 81 SIU reports since you took office. When you deliver the Sona this evening, be mindful of the factors that triggered the July mayhem.
The panel that probed the July events told you: “The need to stop corruption in government and start addressing the needs of the people keeps being kicked down the road, like the proverbial can.” We hope the panel's report will not join the others gathering dust in the Union Buildings.