Reflecting on the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) by Pastor Ray McCauley
With less than three months before the next elections and in a year in which our democracy turns 20, it would have been foolhardy to expect President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) not to "brag" about the achievements of the ANC government and of his tenure as head of state. In this regard, Zuma behaved like any other politician would have.WITH less than three months before the next elections and in a year in which our democracy turns 20, it would have been foolhardy to expect President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) not to "brag" about the achievements of the ANC government and of his tenure as head of state. In this regard, Zuma behaved like any other politician would have.
But does he and the party he leads have any basis to brag, as some of his opponents have characterized his SoNA? Yes, they do, pimples and all. In our assessment of how far we have come as a country and how we are doing, we should avoid what I call the pimple syndrome - where we define the beauty or appearance of a person in terms of those few annoying breakouts on the face.
Just like is the case with a teenager battling with acne, I believe South Africa can manage her pimples and still be beautiful. This we can achieve by emphasizing our best features while taking steps to bring under control those nasty breakouts.
We should celebrate the strides we have made in education. Over the past 20 years, approximately 96 percent of children in SA now gain access to school. Access to higher education has also increased and poorer students can get financial assistance from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. But we cannot ignore the pimple of a dubious quality of basic education. We need to fix that with a sense of urgency otherwise we shall produce children who cannot hold their own in today's highly competitive world. We also cannot ignore the fact that a few weeks ago thousands of students faced the risk of not accessing higher education either because of funding or poor planning by the education authorities.
On the health front, we agree with the President that there have been great improvements. It was pleasing to know that 300 new health facilities have been built since 2009. The major victories we gave scored on the HIV/Aids front - with 20 million people having tested for Aids since 2011 and 2.4 million on antiretroviral treatment - has resulted in us being held up by UNAids as an exemplary country when it comes to public investment and leadership in combating HIV/Aids. Yet, the acne in some of our public hospitals which manifests through a shortage of drugs, patients sharing beds, ambulances not arriving, patients being treated without care and dignity, and too few doctors and nurses, cannot be hidden.
On rural development and land reform, the pace has been somewhat that of a tortoise. In spite of the boasting by the President that nearly 5 000 farms have been transferred to black families and that 80 000 land claims have been settled over the past 20 years, the colonial imbalances in land ownership and especially commercial farming are still glaring. The promotion of food security in a developing country like ours cannot be achieved if the majority of the population is still not gainfully participating in farming and food production. South Africa needs revolutionary ideas on how it will speed up agrarian and land reform. I have a feeling we are running out of time in tackling transformation in this sector.
Then there is the issue of crime and corruption. We hear the statistics about crime having decreased by 21 percent since 2002. But, is this matched by feelings of safety and security by ordinary citizens? Statistics South Africa, an agency of government, conducted a crime-perceptions study not so long ago and it revealed six out ten households are worried about housebreakings and robbery more than any other crime. South Africans are feeling less safe in their homes, the study concluded. It is one thing to reduce the crime rate statistically but it's quite another to give citizens a sense of safety and security.
On corruption, we welcome the statistics released by the President - 1 542 officials fired from the public service, 204 officials prosecuted, R320 million recovered from perpetrators and R1.46 billion recovered from colluding firms in construction, among others. Progress is being made. But the challenge, I submit, are perceptions that those who are political heavyweights can get away with their corrupt activities. Sometimes these perceptions are not necessarily true - we have seen some high profile heads rolling over the past 20 years - but where these perceptions are valid, we have to see a greater determination to address them.
On job creation, it is good that we have regained the almost 1 million jobs we lost due to the 2008 global financial crisis but are still battling with creating sufficient jobs. Government, business and labour have to work together to tackle this challenge.
Ultimately, President Zuma delivered a good SoNA. South Africa does have a good story to tell, considering where we have come from to get where we are, and still have a long way to go.
