PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has been urged to accelerate inclusive economic growth, job creation and address the country’s energy crisis during his State of the Nation Address on Thursday.
Ramaphiosa’s SONA will take place at the Cape Town City Hall following the damage by fire to Parliament in January.
His address comes at a time when the economy is faced with a combination of high unemployment, stagnant Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth as well as a widening gap between rich and poor.
Following the conclusion of Cabinet Lekgotla, Cabinet spokesperson Phumla Williams said the President called on leaders to effect fundamental reforms to revive economic growth and create much-needed employment at a far higher rate.
The meeting also deliberated on challenges and progress in the fight against crime and corruption, and efforts to enhance public safety and security. It also discussed local government service delivery – including the provision of electricity, water and sanitation – as an important part of building the capacity of the State.
Millions will be tuning in to hear if the President talks to the actual challenges facing the county and provides solutions to fix them.
Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) said on Wednesady that Ramaphosa needs to kickstart economic growth in the country in an attempt to escape a ‘low-growth trap’.
“As a result of fiscal constraints, a social crisis of unprecedented proportions has arisen, with poverty a growing challenge and unemployment at record-high levels. With low GDP growth, stagnant fixed capital formation, and falling GNI per capita, South Africa’s economy has been stuck in a low-growth trap.”
Although Covid-19 has intensified the situation, the fundamental challenge is the failure to achieve rapid enough economic growth over the past decade, itself a feature of our failure to implement long-needed structural reforms, Busa said.
The group said that it would like to see the following in the state of the nation address:
- * A proclamation that there is an urgent need for structural economic reforms which involves a message that South Africa is open for investment. This requires policy certainty and interventions to improve the ease of doing business.
- * A clear implementation strategy that demonstrates the importance of the government’s commitment to the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan that identifies and calls for bids on five or six critical growth-enhancing infrastructure projects as a catalyst for job creation.
- * An announcement that the President will ensure his government operates in a cohesive manner and that there will not be mixed messages from different departments.
- * A clear message that law and order in our country is seriously compromised and this will not be tolerated any longer. We need tangible progress on bringing those responsible for the July insurrection, as well as State Capture, to book. Investors require confidence that the government has the capacity and will prosecute and uphold law and order.
- * An announcement that the president will release clear, firmly structured processes for each deliverable, clear responsibilities for members of the Cabinet, and timelines to achieve precise implementation milestones to focus on meeting the above goals.
- * A clear message on how the government is planning to implement the findings of the Zondo Commission Report, with a clear plan and timeline for implementation. Steps must be taken immediately to identify clear cases of criminality and to capacitate relevant institutions to deal with these areas.
- * An action plan to deal with the SOE crisis must include decisions on which SOEs are of strategic importance, the private sector’s role, as well as applicable governance and skills challenges.
- * A clear implementation strategy on how the government plans to address the current energy crisis in the country.
- It is imperative for the President to stress the importance of respecting the justice system and constitutional order, and not undermining it.
“As always, business stands ready as a willing and able partner to co-deliver on many of the critical interventions necessary to ensure that our country is placed on the path of inclusive economic growth and social development,” BUSA said.
Meanwhile, Eskom said on Wednesday it will do all in its power to ensure that the country does not experience load-shedding during the SONA.
Addressing the media with an update on current system challenges on Tuesday afternoon, Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer acknowledged it as an important event.
In the past few days Eskom has had to implement the first bouts of rotational power cuts for 2022.
“We are aiming to reduce the rest of load-shedding in general. The focus is to make sure that we maintain our plants, have skilled human capital to run and operate the plants and to maintain and to deal decisively with the unpredictability and unreliability of the system,” he said.
Oberholzer again promised that Eskom would try to reduce the risk of load-shedding and to ensure that it fulfils the mandate to the country’s economy.
- * Inside Politics
