President Cyril Ramaphosa has not had an easy time since taking office in 2018. The party he leads is broken. He’s had to contend with a pandemic, social unrest, natural disasters and the Phala Phala scandal. And he has had to repair the damage done to South Africa and its institutions by Jacob Zuma and his cronies.
The past week was another difficult one for the president.
As he prepared to deliver his first state of the nation address (Sona) as head of the GNU, the political heat from across the Atlantic Ocean intensified.
US President Donald Trump had taken aim at South Africa over the Expropriation Act, signed into law by Ramaphosa last month. Using “terrible things” supposedly happening to white South Africans as a pretext, Trump said he would cut aid to the country.
The move caused consternation in South African diplomatic circles and spurred Ramaphosa’s trusted inner circle into action. The US is a key trading partner and the country’s second-largest export market, and South Africa’s participation in the African Growth & Opportunity Act is up for review this year. South Africa also holds the G20 presidency, which it will hand over to the US at the G20 summit in November.
Trump’s tirade could not have come at a worse time.
This was the backdrop to Ramaphosa’s address to the nation. On the domestic front, the speech was basically an update on the plans set in motion during the sixth administration.
Nothing new, fresh or innovative. Staying the course at best, visionless at worst.
We will speak with one voice in defence of our national interest, our sovereignty and our constitutional democracy
— Cyril Ramaphosa
An update on the power crisis, the logistics crisis, the looming water crisis, the collapse of local government, infrastructure development, and economic growth and job creation were the key features.
Ramaphosa again promised that a modern and comprehensive industrial policy will be finalised this year, to drive economic growth and create jobs. This long-standing commitment is overdue, as shown in ArcelorMittal’s announcement of plant closures and job losses last month.
A new white paper on local government is on the cards. Given the government’s tendency to wait for a miracle instead of fixing what is broken, this does not bode well for the sphere of government that is hobbling growth and development through poor service delivery.
None of the domestic priorities outlined by Ramaphosa was groundbreaking. The devil will be in the details, to be unveiled during the upcoming budget and expanded on in the medium-term development plan, the blueprint for delivery by the seventh administration signed off by the 10 parties that make up the GNU.
Which is not to say Ramaphosa’s Sona was a complete dud. In the face of Trump’s attacks, he rallied South Africans to present a unified front. “There are global fundamental shifts under way that affect every aspect of human life … In the face of these challenges, we are witnessing the rise of nationalism and protectionism, the pursuit of narrow interests and the decline of common cause.
"This is the world that we, as a developing economy, must now navigate,” he said.
“But we are not daunted. We will not be deterred. We are a resilient people. We will not be bullied. We will stand together as a united nation. We will speak with one voice in defence of our national interest, our sovereignty and our constitutional democracy.”
It was also the right note to strike to rally South Africans behind the GNU, which remains a contested and unpopular political arrangement, even within his own party. Ramaphosa may be exhaustingly slow in taking key domestic decisions. But he will be remembered as a steady, reliable hand as South Africa faces unprecedented global and local challenges.
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