Missed opportunity

GOVERNING a country is often a matter of

balancing competing – and highly de-

manding – interests. This is all the more

the case when a ruling party consists of a

“broad church” of different interest groups and the

country it rules is emerging from a history of re-

pression, burdened with a legacy of gross inequali-

ty and facing tough economic times.

There was little in President Jacob Zuma’s State

of the Nation Address this week to indicate he was

half adept at such juggling, let alone capable of dy-

namic leadership. Unsurprisingly, he did not go off

script on Thursday night to address the issues

which have provided opposition parties with ready

ammunition – the Nkandla debacle; the influence of

his friends, the Guptas; and the disastrous firing of

Nhlanhla Nene.

More remarkable was how vague Zuma managed

to be about the crisis in higher education which oc-

casioned dramatic student protests last year.

On the plus side the president did make the right

noises to reassure investors – promising caution

when considering nuclear energy expenditure, revis-

iting plans to review state-owned enterprises and

proffering cuts in wasteful government expenditure.

But here, too, there was a missed opportunity.

There is no doubt South Africa is facing serious eco-

nomic challenges and that, on the one hand busi-

ness has grave concerns, and on the other many

people, particularly the young, are restive.

What the president should have done was to con-

vince the nation this would be to everyone’s benefit

and then go on to depict a vision for a proudly South

African future all could share.

It was an opportunity missed.

All eyes will now turn to Finance Minister

Pravin Gordhan’s Budget speech on February 24 to

provide the details on how the government is going

to balance its books, attract investment, build the

local economy and meet ordinary people’s needs.