CAPE TOWN - If there was one thing to be optimistic about in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, it would be his self-imposed target of 100 days to finalise a “comprehensive social compact to grow our economy, create jobs and combat hunger.”
It would have been commendable if this was a country with no pressing needs that required urgent attention.
It’s somewhat strange that the president has been at the helm of the country almost five years, is only now realising the urgency required in addressing the needs of the majority of the country.
Whether this is another Ramaphosa talk, is another topic for another day.
The point is that it would be news to us and possibly many South Africans if the president does meet his own deadline. That’s how low the bar is for the government .
What follows after the finalisation of this social compact is a guessing game. Another commission, another task team to implement it? All possible, if the track record of this administration is anything to go by.
We can be forgiven for this kind of thinking when Ramaphosa has very little to show for his presidency.
In fact, some have even labelled him the weakest president this country has ever had, who seeks to consult about anything and everything, when he could have just acted.
Our country would be in a much better position if the government set itself targets and actually lived up to those expectations.
Today, more and more South Africans are going to bed on empty stomachs with very little idea of where their next meal will come from.
If the events of July last year taught us anything, it would be that no amount of failure will make this inept government realise the damage it has caused this country either by commission or omission.
This will be the legacy of the current administration and no amount of PR will change that.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has an opportunity to inspire confidence when he delivers his Budget Speech - a task his boss failed to execute two weeks ago.
Another 100 days is too long when so many are unemployed and are now suddenly told to rely on the private sector, especially when their loyalty to the governing ANC has hardly been rewarded over the almost three decades of its rule.
Cape Times