By Simon Nare
President Cyril Ramaphosa has hit back at his budget vote critics in the National Assembly for their “misguided view” of collaboration between government and business as well as making sweeping statements about accountability lacking in government.
In his reply to his budget vote debate on Thursday, Ramaphosa said although the Presidency budget vote was spirited and at times provocative, some of the points highlighted by MPs in the house were off the mark.
The president argued that some of the critics from the opposing benches who spoke of the scant progress since the dawn of democracy were turning a blind eye on the many successes and achievements.
He said opposition party uMkhonto we Sizwe Parliamentary leader Judge John Hlophe gave the house a laundry list of everything that was wrong with the country.
“At the same time, we should not lose sight of the fact that this democracy, only 31 years old, has made great progress in improving the quality of life of its citizens,” he said.
Ramaphosa said it has been just over a year since the establishment of the Government of National Unity made up of 10 political parties with different histories and experiences. It has weathered many storms but continues to hold on.
He added there have indeed been disagreements and disputes among the GNU partners and yet, despite these differences, as partners they have chosen to work for the common good.
“It is as a Government of National Unity that we will continue in our mission to drive rapid, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, to create a more just society by tackling poverty and the high cost of living, building state capacity, strengthening law enforcement agencies and deepening social cohesion and nation building,” he said.
The president welcomed the support for the work of the Presidency in fulfilling its mandate, and agreed that the support brought with it the expectation of accountability as that was the cornerstone of a responsive government.
However, Ramaphosa said there were some who were confused about the role of the president. He agreed with the characterisation that The Presidency was a center of strategic coordination and not an implementing department.
“The role of the Presidency is to unlock implementation. The Presidency does not build roads or fix potholes. The Presidency does not deliver clinics or dispense grants. The Presidency, and indeed the President, does not try accused persons or put them in orange overalls.
“The role of the Presidency is to ensure that the work of government departments is coordinated, and that Cabinet decisions and priority programmes are implemented,” he said.
He added that the role of the Presidency was to ensure there was policy coherence across all the arms of government, and to give strategic direction to departments as they fulfilled their respective mandates.
Ramaphosa admitted that South Africans have grown wary of well-crafted plans, policies and strategies and wanted to see implementation. This was why there was the Department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation which monitored the implementation of the Medium-Term Development Plan inaugurated under the seventh administration.
The president said the department, which was within The Presidency, produced annual reports on key sectoral outcomes such as health, education, frontline service delivery monitoring reports and citizen-based monitoring reports.
All those reports were subjected to parliamentary oversight, he said.
“These are all regular, easily accessible and detailed. They are there for any member of this House, and indeed any South African, to see, interrogate and use to hold their public representatives to account.
“So, before we stand here in this House and make generalisations about lack of accountability on the part of government, let us take the time to read. We should desist from sweeping statements about accountability lacking in government,” he said.
Ramaphosa admitted to the House that the challenges the country was facing were immense and it was not nearly as far along the road to a shared future as it had hoped.
He asked opposition MPs whether they wanted to be malcontent, and whether they wanted to break or build.
He said as the country was preparing for the National Dialogue where the nation would face hard truths and forge a brighter future, The Presidency’s budget should be a turning point.
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