President Cyril Ramaphosa held his fifth State of the Nation Address on Thursday evening and there were a lot of major talking points, but Eskom topped the list.
As opposition parties and South African citizens waited with bated breath to hear his plans and ideas as far as unemployment, crime, and the devastating cuts are concerned – the Economic Freedom Fighters were ready to cause chaos.
Led by Julius Malema, the red berets delayed the proceedings as they continuously raised their hands, calling for a point of order until National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula was annoyed and removed them from the house.
As they were leaving the chamber, some of them stormed the stage and tried to approach Ramaphosa but they were met by Parliamentary Protection Services who managed to stop the EFF MPs from getting to the president.
Apart from the EFF disruptions, Ramaphosa was disturbed by Vuyolwethu Zungula of the African Transformation Movement who was also chased out of the chamber.
After almost 45 minutes, Ramaphosa eventually resumed his address and he announced that the ongoing load shedding will receive the necessary and immediate attention from the state while also declaring the power cuts as a state of disaster.
He said this was declared under the Disaster Management Act after it was gazetted by the minister of cooperative governance, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, on Thursday.
The current African National Congress leader also promised to appoint a new minister who will take charge of a brand new department of electricity – which will make Eskom and load shedding a top priority.
BusinessTech Africa takes a look at the major talking points during the highly anticipated speech but it seems it was just another speech that really lacked substance we have to wait and see if indeed, the man in charge will eventually lead us out of all the economic, unemployment, and crime challenges.
“As we outline our agenda for the year ahead, our most immediate task is to dramatically reduce the severity of load shedding in the coming months and ultimately end load shedding altogether. Under these conditions, we cannot proceed as we usually would,” said Ramaphosa.
“The plan outlined five key interventions. First, fix Eskom’s coal-fired power stations and improve the availability of existing supply. Second, enable and accelerate private investment in generation capacity. Third, accelerate procurement of new capacity from renewables, gas, and battery storage. Fourth, unleash businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar. Fifth, fundamentally transform the electricity sector to achieve long-term energy security.
“Under its new board, Eskom is deploying people and resources to improve the reliability of the six power stations that have contributed the most to load shedding. Eskom is urgently fast-tracking construction of a temporary solution to bring back three units at Kusile power station following the collapse of a chimney stack last year, while simultaneously repairing the permanent structure.”
Ramaphosa announced that to remove any confusion, the Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan will remain the shareholder representative of Eskom and steer the restructuring of Eskom.
Food Security:
This year’s SONA comes as the agriculture sector called for it to be declared an essential considering the higher prices of diesel.
However, Ramaphosa didn’t touch on food security the president was mum on this crucial matter, instead, he said that the raging load shedding meant that households are struggling to make ends meet.
Many political analysts say Ramaphosa paid lip service to the looming food security threat announced by various sectors such as dairy, poultry, crop, and vegetable production.
On the other hand, South Africans and supermarkets are also unable to keep food fresh and water supply is often disrupted because of the power cuts – Ramaphosa was correct to declare a state of disaster but was that the right move needed by scores of South Africans?
We still have to wait and see if he will indeed deliver all these promises because to any ordinary man on the street, looking for a job, this potentially means chances are slim if they actually exist.
Crime and beefing up police personnel
It is a known fact that communities across the country live in fear for the safety of their families and the president said this situation cannot continue.
“We are strengthening the South African Police Service to prevent crime and improving the capacity of the National Prosecuting Authority and courts to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice,” he said.
“This includes putting more police on the streets and setting up specialised teams that will focus on specific types of crime.
“Last year, we undertook to recruit 12 000 new police personnel. Since then, more than 10 000 new recruits graduated from police academies and a further 10 000 will be recruited and trained this year.”
Economic Development
This website has always penned pieces on the business sector voicing its concerns as far as its challenges regarding power cuts.
While the economy managed to bounce back from the challenging and devastating Covid-19, he touched on the Covid-19 “bounce back” loan scheme he said will be utilised to help businesses recover from the pandemic.
In his words, Ramaphosa said: “National Treasury is working on adjustments to the bounce back loan scheme to help small businesses to invest in solar equipment, and to allow banks and development finance institutions to borrow directly from the scheme to facilitate the leasing of solar panels to the customers.”
“Last year, we launched the bounce-back loan scheme administered by banks and other financial institutions, and guaranteed by the government, for companies that need finance to recover from the effects of the pandemic,” Ramaphosa announced.
“The Department of Small Business Development will work with National Treasury on how the scheme can be strengthened to assist small and medium enterprises and businesses in the informal sector.”
The only hope for South Africans is that the plan can only work and that his cabinet will not be tempted to help themselves on the funds as some of them did during the pandemic.
It should be noted that the president said that through the Small Enterprise Finance Agency – SEFA – he plans to provide R1.4 billion in financing to over 90 000 entrepreneurs.
In addition, the government together with the South African SME Fund is working to establish a R10 billion fund to support SMME growth. The head of state said he intends to provide R2.5 billion for the fund and for the balance of R7.5 billion to be raised from the private sector.
Reactions to Ramaphosa’s Speech
From political analysts to civil action groups such as Outa and opposition parties, Ramapahosa has received contrasting remarks from his annual address.
Some seem to agree with the stance taken by this publication that the speech was just a ‘cool’ talk because some of the points were raised in the past few years.
“The President’s State of the Nation Address failed to inspire confidence. He acknowledged many of the problems but did not offer believable solutions. He offered many promises, many of which we’ve heard before,” said Outa.
“It would be wonderful if all these promises were realised or even underway. The President sought to inspire hope, but he succeeded in reminding us how bad the situation really is. His address confirms the country has been poorly managed for too long.”
As we pointed out, Ramaphosa didn’t set the deadline to meet his demands and ensure there is no power crisis in South Africa – that sentiment is shared by Business Leadership South Africa, which said: “If used responsibly and effectively though, the state of the disaster, along with the new electricity minister driving the energy reforms, do offer hope of faster implementation of the measures needed to end load-shedding in the short term and secure our energy supply over the longer term through increased generation capacity.”
The main opposition party, Democratic Alliance criticised the president and his address, saying he lacks democratic oversight mechanisms. Said the party:
“Instead of decentralising control and trusting in the market mechanism, Ramaphosa has opted to centralise even more power in his own Super Presidency – which lacks democratic oversight mechanisms, with Parliament lying in ruins and the Presidency having no portfolio committee to oversee it.
“More centralisation and less accountability is exactly the opposite of what South Africa urgently needs right now. He talked of electric cars in a country that does not have electricity. He talked of hope in a country that has lost all hope.”
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the SONA addressed the most immediate tasks, which included drastically reducing the severity of load shedding and its impact.
“This will require a massive, effective, and sustainable skills revolution, which will strengthen the link between the skills that we develop and the skills the workplace needs,” she said.
“The SONA also strengthened the resolve to lift our people out of poverty and unemployment through the social wage, including public employment programmes and the social grants, which all have proven to be a lifeline to our people,”
In his closing remarks, the president quoted the late head of state Nelson Mandela and said “We need, as a nation, at this time more than any other, to reveal our true character. We need to work together and leave no-one behind.”
He quoted the first democratically elected leader: “Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.
“Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity’s belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all.”
As the reactions continue to pour into BTA’s desk, we will publish them considering the fact that various sectors of the economy are still digesting and breaking down the speech.
