General: Ramaphosa paints grim picture of national psyche

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 8 January ANC anniversary statement (EWN) on Saturday drew attention to the need for attitude change and moral regeneration on such a massive scale one cannot help but wonder not only how he expects government to achieve the ambitious goals outlined in his party’s election manifesto given the state of the economy, but also how prepared ordinary South Africans are to grasp the nettle. Replete with the usual election campaign promises, the President’s speech nevertheless left no holds barred about ‘our people’s’ ever-increasing tendency to ‘resort to violence in situations of stress and conflict’, also spelling out the long-term implications of ‘factionalism and patronage’, ‘state capture and corruption’ and an uncaring, poorly managed civil service. Against that backdrop, notes Pam Saxby for Legalbrief Policy Watch, he alluded to the need for an education system that lays the foundations for young people to ‘grow’: not only in their ‘knowledge and capabilities’ but in their respect for the ‘rights, … needs and concerns’ of others and their willingness to ‘lend a hand’.

Noting the importance of building ‘a capable and ethical state’, Ramaphosa singled out the public health system as an example of how ‘poor financial management’ and inadequate attention to human resource planning, training, and the maintenance of equipment and infrastructure can undermine service delivery. He also spoke of the need for ‘more and better-skilled police and prosecution authorities’, ‘safe, affordable and reliable public transport’, and the importance of a workforce equipped with ‘appropriate skills’ that, among other things, will ‘propel’ its people and their nation into ‘a new age of discovery’.

Presumably with all this in mind, the President committed his party to ‘reforms in economic sectors that have the greatest potential to grow and create jobs’ and ‘a higher path of shared growth’. ‘We will draw more women, more rural people and more youth into the economy by expanding access to digital skills training to young people, by developing and supporting technological and digital start-ups, and (by way of) a more concerted focus on small, medium and micro enterprises, co-operatives and township and village enterprises’, Ramaphosa said, promising a ‘skills revolution’. ‘We will take measures to lower the cost of doing business in SA, increase productivity and improve competitiveness.’ This will be accomplished by implementing last year’s presidential jobs summit agreements, ‘boosting local demand for goods’, ‘investing more in sectors like mining, manufacturing and agriculture, and expanding export markets’.

According to the President, government’s infrastructure budget will be ‘pooled’ and used to ‘raise additional funds from other public and private sources to build roads, rail lines, broadband networks, hospitals, schools, dams and other infrastructure vital for a growing economy’. The ‘displacement of local enterprises by big retail stores’ will be ‘prevented’ and a place for small producers ‘ensured’ in retail value chains. In addition, government will ‘work with commercial private banks and other financial institutions on ways to expand access to funding and capital for such businesses and individuals’. ‘A social plan will be designed to address retraining and support for workers that could potentially be displaced by new technologies’ – and ‘urban agriculture and community food gardens’ will feature among measures used to ‘promote national food security and reduce hunger’.

Only two policy certainties featured in the statement. ‘The election manifesto will ‘outline the elements of a plan to accelerate land reform – making use of a range of complementary measures, including, where appropriate, expropriation without compensation’. And, with the aim of ‘ensuring’ that that ‘everyone has access to quality health care, regardless of their ability to pay’, ‘enabling legislation’ for national health insurance will be finalised. Referring to this as ‘a revolutionary shift’, Ramaphosa said that (among many other things) it will require government to ‘promote social solidarity and work towards the cross-subsidisation of services – where those who can afford to pay more assist those who cannot pay; where the young subsidise the old and where the healthy subsidise the sick’.

At the time of writing, the ANC had yet to post the statement on its new website. The party’s election manifesto was only available on its Facebook page. 

Follow Pam Saxby on Twitter (@SaxbyPam)