GOOD Statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
10 February 2022
Though accompanied by the usual media buildup, pomp and ceremony this year’s State of the Nation Address felt flatter than those that have gone before because so many South Africans have lost faith in the State’s ability to turn the country around.
On the opposition side of the house there was a palpable sense of low expectations, that we’d heard too many unfulfilled promises before. Even the ruling party bloc seemed relatively subdued. Having to sit through another lengthy re-run of parliamentary abuse by the EFF hardly lifted the mood.
Given the actual state of the nation, the electricity crisis, extreme levels of poverty, unemployment, inequality and criminality, it was arguably expecting the impossible of President Ramaphosa to restore the nation’s hope with this speech.
With a general election now looming on the horizon, there’s a feeling that words increasingly don’t matter. To a weary and cynical nation, the proof is in the pudding of better management, governance and service delivery.
The President correctly described the electricity crisis as an existential threat. We welcome his commitment to stick to the action plan he announced in July last year, despite the disappointment that Bid Window 6 hopelessly failed to meet the commitments of adding 5200MW of additional renewable energy to the mix.
We don’t need a succession of new plans; we need to implement those we have, and that does not require a State of Disaster.
There are provisions in the Public Finance Management Act that provide for access to resources in times of crisis, along with provision for deviations in procurement legislation if and where necessary.
If a dedicated Minister of Electricity can achieve the timely implementation of the National Energy Crisis plan, then appointing such a Minister will be a worthwhile move.
Quite how the new minister will interface with the Ministers of Public Enterprises and Energy, and the Minister of Co-Operative Government (who comes to the fore in a State of Disaster), may prove complicated.
But once again, what matters to South Africans is not what is said or how the deck-chairs are arranged, but the provision of a more stable electricity supply.
Moving from one existential crisis to another, the President missed an opportunity to prioritise addressing the scourge of poverty by implementing a Basic Income Grant.
The state is obliged to provide a minimum state of protection. With the cost of living today, extending the R350 grant is insufficient. This paltry amount does not even meet the food poverty line. South Africa needs a comprehensive overhaul of its social security programme, and last night would have been a good time to announce it.
The plan to provide R1.4 billion in financing to over 90 000 entrepreneurs is promising, together with the plan to establish a fund to support SMME growth. These plans must be implemented. Entrepreneurship and small business can play a massive role in reducing unemployment. The biggest barrier they face is access to finance.
We welcome the President’s focus on the transportation crisis, and the commitment to get freight and public transport working again. Public transport is an essential service, not least in a country that retains apartheid spatial exclusion patterns. Transportation has been undervalued as a key component of economic, social, spatial and environmental progress for too long.
If we don’t get transport right, we will literally grind to a halt. To get it right requires a minister who will fully embrace the National Land Transport Act 2009, which is a revolutionary piece of legislation intended to overhaul our transport systems. Once again, it’s not a case of having to reinvent the wheel, but implementing existing plans.
Finally, we welcome the significant progress that has been made in rolling out the large-scale infrastructure development programme. We are proud of the leading role of our GOOD Leader, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, in championing infrastructure-led growth and recovery.
Infrastructure is not only a good driver of economic growth; it is also a social good. It addresses historic backlogs and deprivation.
Media Enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
Cell: 0825183264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 0733671223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za