It was always going to be hard, if not impossible, for President Cyril Ramaphosa to resist the temptation to electioneer during his last state of the nation address with an election date announcement a mere 15 days away.
And nothing was off the table. He interspersed his messages with “whether they like it or not” or “some may not like this, but that’s the reality” to share stories of limited but, in his view, important progress in the lives of the poor.
Ramaphosa went down the memory lane, invoking the name of Nelson Mandela, who, he reminded us, cast his vote in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, the birthplace of the ANC’s first president Chief Albert Luthuli, who also happens to be the first African Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. He also threw in Shaka’s name for good measure. The reference to the ANC’s strong roots and connection to KwaZulu-Natal was not innocent. It was meant to remind those considering joining former president Jacob Zuma’s new party, Umkhonto we Sizwe, that the province has a rich connection with the ANC and Zuma, without naming him, is an aberration for campaigning against the party of Luthuli.
Ramaphosa quoted Mandela: “We’ve moved from an era of pessimism ...” just as the air was thick with pessimism over what was achieved in the 30 years of ANC rule.
The thrust of his input was that millions have benefited from two or so such policies and possibly could help the party surprise the opposition at the polls in a few months
But he explained to pessimists why the ruling party was firmly rooted on the ground, whether they like it or not. He explained these benefits through the life of a child born in 1994 — democracy’s child — Tintswalo. His point was that the ANC provided free housing for poor people, educated them in no-fee schools, provided them with nutritious meals (which supports 9-million pupils today), provided child support grants (part of a lifeline for 26-million social security recipients); and through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, Tintswalo got a qualification and entered the job market as a beneficiary of employment equity.
“This is the story of millions of people who have been born since the dawn of our democracy,” Ramaphosa told a bemused nation that wondered if Tintswalo was real or not. But when his speech ended and it became clear Tintswalo is a fictionalised character, opposition parties had a field day telling a different story. Tintswalo, they said, was probably unemployed, dropped out of high school, lives in a shack, can’t get a job because load-shedding is slowing down the economy and poor Tintswalo, like the rest of South African, is affected by crime and public hospitals without proper medication.
But while it’s easy to caricature and hard to find a perfect Tintswalo who benefited from all the policies the president referred to, the thrust of his input was that millions have benefited from two or so such policies and possibly could help the party surprise the opposition at the polls in a few months.
But Ramaphosa, to his credit, acknowledged that Tintswalo’s story is “only part of the story”.
Turning to the middle class’s bugbear — corruption — Ramaphosa said the past five years were about recovery, rebuilding and renewal. “Much progress was made against individuals and companies who benefited from state capture. Freezing orders of R14bn have been granted to the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit for state capture-related cases, and about R8.6bn in corrupt proceeds have been returned to the state. A restored and revitalised Sars has collected R4.8bn in unpaid taxes as a result of evidence presented at the commission, while the Special Investigating Unit has instituted civil litigation to the value of R64bn.”
On paper, this shows progress. However, the bungling of cases involving prominent state capture accused has cast doubt on the commitment to rid our country of the stench of corruption. Further, the fact that some state capture fingered individuals such as ministers Gwede Mantashe, Zizi Kodwa and others were in the chamber clapping hands as he spoke was most ironic.
In the end, it’s not too significant that Ramaphosa abused an opportunity to report back for elections purposes. Many of his detractors would have done the same.
What will matter is the lived experiences of many different Tintswalos. The unemployed and thriving Tintswalos will, when the moment comes, use the ballot to make a statement about the type of life most Tintswalos have lived in the past 30 years.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.