All eyes on Pres Zuma’s address this week

MARY KLUK

This takes the form of an address to a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces on the current political and socio-economic state of the country, and marks the annual opening of Parliament. It is also, however, widely regarded as being an address to the nation as a whole by its highest elected leader.

Few will dispute that this year there are a formidable range of pressing issues that one would expect to be touched on by the president.

The Eskom crisis, violent service delivery protests and a resurgence of xenophobic attacks would be three of the most recent problems to have arisen, alongside the continued imperatives of job creation, poverty alleviation, education and training and fostering of economic growth.

Criticism, of course, is easy, as is coming up with theories as to what needs to be done. For those entrusted with actually dealing with the issues on a practical, day-to-day basis, confronting the multiple challenges this poses is a daunting task. While this is no excuse for corruption, wastage or wanton inefficiency on the part of public servants and elected officials, it needs always to be borne in mind.

Ideally, confronting and overcoming the challenges our country faces, together with seizing the many opportunities for growth and development, has to be approached as a partnership between government and governed.

This means that the private sector, civil society and indeed all individual citizens to some degree or another have a responsibility to contribute in whatever way they can. In recent years, the Board has documented some of the ways in which Jewish organisations and private individuals have been involved in a range of upliftment initiatives on behalf of underprivileged South Africans, including in the fields of education, entrepreneurship, job creation, health and human rights.

Hopefully, this will continue and indeed be extended upon, so that we, as a community, can participate in building the kind of a just, prosperous society that we know South Africa can become if its people have a unity of vision and work together.

Following the barbarous murder of a captured Jordanian pilot by IS last week, the government issued a strong statement unequivocally “condemning all forms and manner of terrorism”. That being the case, one wonders why representatives of government and the ruling party were among those who gave so rapturous a welcome to unrepentant terrorist Leila Khaled, and why the presiding officers in Parliament extended an invitation to her to attend the State of the Nation address.

BDS-SA, as we know, says one thing and does exactly the opposite. It claims to be a body devoted to peace, yet brings to South Africa as its special guest someone who has devoted her life to violence – primarily against civilians.

While doublespeak is par for the course for BDS, we expect greater consistency from our government. If terrorism is wrong when perpetrated against innocent victims in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria or Paris, then it is wrong when perpetrated against Israelis as well. We cannot afford mixed messages from our elected leaders, and especially on so fraught and sensitive a matter as this.

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