Something GNU here: Ramaphosa’s gimmick-free SONA

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa gave his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 6 February. Esteemed journalist Mandy Wiener was there.

Was there anything unpredictable in Ramaphosa’s SONA? If so, what was it?

There was no gimmick this year as there has been in prior SONAs. No mention of Tintswalo, or bullet trains, or any major revelation. The focus was on the MTDP (Medium Term Development Plan) which is the government of national unity’s (GNU’s) plan for the next five years. The one thing we were trying to predict beforehand was whether Ramaphosa would use the platform to address United States (US) President Donald Trump, and he did it in a fairly subtle way, as I anticipated he would.

Every year, we hear about the need for jobs and improving our economy, but are we witnessing any change? If so, where?

The government sharpened its focus on this in the MTDP. Ramaphosa specified that the government was targeting 3% growth, which is a figure that has been put out by the private sector and its collaboration with treasury through Operation Vulindlela. Opposition parties argue that there isn’t enough change yet, and unemployment remains alarmingly high, so this will be the real test of the success of the GNU.

Does the president’s SONA have any impact? If so, how and where?

Anecdotally, I would say no. I’m not sure that the majority of South Africans pay attention to the specifics of what the president has to say in the SONA or if they even bother watching or listening to it. Many people say they just read my summary on social media. I do think it’s important for the government to set out its plan and communicate that to the electorate, but the real measure is whether it actually delivers on its promises.

Will this year be different?

Well, this is the first SONA on behalf of a GNU, so from that perspective it will be different. This wasn’t merely an African National Congress (ANC) policy regurgitation. The president actually consulted GNU partners on the content of the speech. Then Cabinet members made submissions during the lekgotla, and there was a meeting of the GNU on the day of the SONA to go through the details. I do think with other parties having a vested interest in various portfolios, delivery is likely to improve.

One of the issues he dealt with was municipalities’ failed service delivery. Why do you think this was relevant, what promises did he make, and what do you believe will happen now?

There will be a local government election in 18 months’ time, so it didn’t come as a shock that there was a considerable focus on municipalities. These have been the site of the most visible and obvious failings of the ANC government. The MTDP contains plans which include reviewing how municipalities are funded and improving water and electricity delivery.

Following SONA, what do you believe we have to be inspired by?

The nuts and bolts of the speech wasn’t particularly inspiring. There was no poetic call to action like we have seen in the past with his “Thuma mina” speech, and no evocative symbolism like he used with the sociable weaver-birds metaphor. The most stirring part of the speech was the sub-tweet to US President Donald Trump, in which Ramaphosa laid out South Africa’s values as a nation; its commitment to justice and freedoms; emphasising that we wouldn’t be bullied as a nation.

With Ramaphosa as the new chair of the G20, and Marco Rubio (US Secretary of State) having said that he wasn’t coming to its meeting this year, was this tackled or ignored? Either way, why do you think this was?

It wasn’t directly addressed, but there was a passive aggressive acknowledgement. Ramaphosa and his speech writers wanted to focus on domestic issues and not current affairs, so it wasn’t directly addressed on this platform. Ramaphosa did speak about the importance of hosting the G20 on the world stage, and said he would send envoys to the US to explain foreign policy.

How did Ramaphosa deal with Trump’s recent “confiscating land” tweet?

Ramaphosa responded to Trump without directly responding to him, insisting that we are a country that won’t be bullied and that stands for justice and is true to our values. He said, “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. As South Africans, we stand for peace and justice, for equality and solidarity. We stand for non-racialism and democracy, for tolerance and compassion.”

What was your biggest “take home” from SONA?

We are in an era of coalition politics and the ANC, as much as it refuses to acknowledge it, no longer has a majority in Parliament. The electorate has sent a message that it wants political parties to govern together, and things are different now. The hand of the other parties like the Democratic Alliance and Rise Mzansi were evident in the policies set out in the speech, and there is now a clear willingness to collaborate with the private sector.

If you could whisper into the president’s ear about how to move forward, what would you say?

Like any good marriage, it requires compromise on all sides, and he would do well to remember that when signing off contentious legislation and implementing policy. He’s no longer only an ANC president but a president leading a coalition of parties.