President Jacob Zuma has the tough job to restore public confidence. That’s according to analysts, describing his much anticipated State of the Nation Address as a litmus test for him.
The focus will be on his response to the economic downturn.
South Africans are looking for a plan to revive the economy, curb the high unemployment rates, and ease the burden of higher food prices, because of the worst drought in decades.
UNISA-based Political Analyst Dr. Somadoda Fikeni argues that this year’s State of the Nation Address will be a litmus test for President Zuma’s leadership.
“In the first instance, he goes to the SONA far more vulnerable and increasingly isolated. The economic conditions are not getting better including the firing of (Nhlanhla) Nene, which has created decline in confidence. All these show to pressure rising against the President.”
It is expected to be one of the most challenging State of the Nation Addresses for President Zuma. The SONA comes at a time where the President is dealing with the backlash of Cabinet appointments and a Constitutional Court battle.
And on Friday, another court battle is looming over the failure to arrest Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir when he was in the country in 2015. And expectations are high as South Africans feel the pinch of the ailing economy.
It’s been a tough five weeks for President Zuma, haunted by the debacle in 2015 that saw the country with three finance ministers in a week.
The decision rattled the markets, costing the Johannesburg Stock Exchange millions of rands, and weakening the rand. He has also faced the wrath of opposition parties on the Public Protector’s report on non-security features at his Nkandla home.
Economists argue that in order to restore investor confidence, President Zuma will have to walk a tight-rope, re-assuring sceptical investors that the ANC-led government has a rescue plan for the ailing economy.
Already, predictions are that South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product does not have the potential to grow beyond 2% over the next three years.
On the eve of his State of the Nation Address, President Zuma met the country’s top CEOs and captains of industry in Cape Town. It’s at this meeting that business leaders presented the President with a plan to avert another sovereign ratings downgrade that could lead to long-term economic decline.
Nedbank Group’s Chief Executive Officer Mike Brown, one of the crafters of the economic recovery plan, says a lot needs to be done to avoid a downgrade. “Because the consequence of a downgrade would be expensive for all South Africans. Secondly, together with government trying to understand what the impediments to growth and job creation are.”
For his part, President Zuma has committed government to improving and enhancing relations with the private sector.
Zuma says, “Let me emphasise that we are serious when we say we want to avail ourselves for continuous interaction with business for the good of the economy and our country. We may not be in a position to change the past. However, we have the power to map the future. Let us work together to ensure that in the next economic upswing, South Africa will be in a position to grow faster and employ more people.”
President Zuma was unfazed on Monday by threats to interrupt his address. Zuma is also expected to focus on the instability in the labour market, government’s infrastructure development investment spend, and measures to stabilise cash-strapped and under-performing State-owned enterprises.
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– By Tshepo Ikaneng
