Time for ANC-led government to shift into top gear

No matter what happens when President Jacob Zuma gives his State of the Nation speech today, we expect South Africa to enter a new phase.

We expect to see the emergence of a government that is able to act decisively and give clear marching orders. Today cannot be "business as usual".

Not only must our leaders stand up and be counted, they must put their personal ambitions aside and remember the oath they took when they took office.

If truth be told, ours is a ship in distress.

This nation cannot be held hostage to the chaos that Julius Malema and his Economic Freedom Fighters have threatened to unleash.

Unable to rise above the challenges of the day, weak organisations tend to retreat to the security blanket of their tried-and-tested tactics.

The biggest threat we face today is not from the opposition benches but from the ruling party, which is stuck in one gear.

Men and women of courage have, it seems, been suborned by the trappings of power. The name of the game today is how to survive politically without rocking the boat.

Zuma might not be the architect of this chaos and confusion but he is the driver of a bus that is taking us nowhere fast. We must not allow ourselves to be driven into a corner of unreason. Our history is full of heroes who, in time of need, though their position was unpopular, put their best foot forward and challenged the status quo.

Where would we be today if Nelson Mandela, Anton Lembede, Walter Sisulu, Ashley Peter Mda and Oliver Tambo had not challenged ANC leaders who saw nothing wrong in how they sought to bring about change in this country?

We are all descendants of men and women who walked where others feared to tread. Today, that same spirit is needed to pull the nation out of the mud.

As Zuma enters parliament tonight he must take the responsibility on his shoulders.