Political analyst and media practitioner, Goodenough Mashego, said that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address (Sona) on Thursday was exciting because he was inspiring confidence and made believable promises – though belatedly.
Mashego said, on the event of the thirtieth anniversary of the release of former President Nelson Mandela, it was sobering and exciting because Ramaphosa’ Sona was coming during a global pandemic which, like the 2008 economic meltdown, will result in increased levels of poverty and government borrowing. “If we are to fact-check on what the president says has been achieved and can be improved upon; he was right that interventions government introduced in dealing with Covid-19 have assisted many families who otherwise would have fallen through the cracks,” Mashego said.
He added, “The R350 Covid-19 relief and the increase in old age grants has boosted households at the time when Lockdown Level 5 meant they had to stay home and wait for a miracle. For those in the private and informal sector, not being able to work was a debilitating reality. While we will never know the extent of divorces and suicides the pandemic caused, we will, from statistics know how many households have been assisted.”
“Where I feel the president is optimistic is on creation of jobs through reliance on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). He was smiling as he spelled out investment pledges to the tune of R108 billion and the expansion of the Ford automobile facility outside Tshwane. Pledges don’t usually result in follow-on investment and companies such as Ford can pull out anytime an ANC conference resolution goes against their stated economic goals.
“If such FDI withdrew it would result in massive unemployment and an economic slump. That is why the approach, as glossed over by the president when he mentioned how agriculture has picked up the country’s export potential, lies in local investment, manufacturing and procurement. It is the undoing of South Africa that government spending mirrors Black middle class spending patterns – they love everything from overseas and nothing from within. That is why it will be tricky for the country to implement the president’s Buy Local initiative when our public service is made up of WaBenzi-Gucci middle class,” he said.
Former Executive Mayor of Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Jeri Ngomane, said that the Lanseria Smart City project will create a lot of construction jobs. “I think after the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic; this can bring the much needed relief in the country’s job market. It has also pleased me that the President has identified the problem that we have now become a nation that depends on imports even on items that our own entrepreneurs can produce. Local production of commodities like clothing will surely revive our economy and add value in the country export value chain as many African countries will surely import from a self-reliant South Africa,” he said.
Ngomane said, “The president also spoke of a massive infrastructure development surely the state of our decapitation of our roads has reached unacceptable promotion and this will help dearly.” “We are still there. He just talks; he doesn’t do,” said Groenewald as IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said, “It felt like 2019, 2020 again.” Hlengwa also cautioned against establishing yet more structures such as the proposed national water agency. That was a sign of trying to fix brokenness in the short term rather than dealing with the issue properly.
