SA needs a plan, not promises
THE ANC’s annual January 8 rally has come and gone, and if South Africans were looking for clear and unequivocal signals of how the government plans to overcome its current economic, moral and political woes, they would be none the wiser.
President Jacob Zuma’s address during the ruling party’s 105th birthday celebrations was predictably strong on rhetoric and promises.
It covered all the pertinent issues that South Africans have good reason to be concerned about – the creation of jobs, the need to curb endemic crime, ending rampant corruption, speeding up land redistribution and growing the economy.
But what was conspicuously lacking was a clear plan on how the president intends effecting a turnaround that would give people hope for the future.
What was encouraging is that President Zuma openly acknowledged all the country’s urgent priorities.
He did not shy away from the damaging losses suffered by the ANC in the August municipal elections and told the thousands of party supporters present that he would work towards strengthening the party leadership.
The loss of major metros to the opposition has obviously jolted party leaders, who have been told quite bluntly they are too busy fighting each other to pay sufficient attention to the needs of the people they claim to govern.
This is a critical message that needs to cascade to all levels in the ruling party. They are in power to serve the people and not themselves.
President Zuma spent a significant amount of time in his speech spelling out what the country needs to do to turn its fortunes around. The trouble is that we’ve heard it all before. People don’t need to be reminded that South Africa is stuck in a quagmire of corruption. They know that already and want to hear what the government plans to do about it.
They don’t need to be told that people are being stifled by poor service delivery and slow land redistribution. They know about these issues and have been protesting over them for years. What they want to hear is how the government plans to effect changes that will improve the quality of their lives.
Making promises to people doesn’t put food on their tables. Nor does it give them a roof over their heads or provide jobs in the marketplace.
In fact, unfulfilled promises serve only to frustrate people’s hopes and aspirations, resulting in increased tensions and civil unrest, which the country cannot afford.
What South Africa needs is a vision and leadership that can deliver on what the founding fathers of our democracy envisaged just over two decades ago.
If President Zuma is not capable of driving such a mission, he should leave it to others to accomplish.