This was always going to be a report back to the nation rather than a platform to make new announcements. Though there were some announcements that caught the eye, including a commencement date for digital migration that has been almost 15 years in the making, the extension of the R350 relief of stress grant for another three months, and the extension of temporary employee relief scheme (TERS) until March 15 to workers in industries that are still shut. The president also revealed the imminent announcement of successful bids for provision of 2,000 megawatts of emergency power when there’s load-shedding.
Two new state agencies are also in the pipeline – one to fast-track land reform and another one focusing on water infrastructure.
He was also upbeat when announcing a new National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, which he said was a precursor to an independent anti-corruption body that would eventually report to parliament.
These certainly grab some attention. Could Ramaphosa be the first president to conclude digital migration, an issue that successive ANC administrations have put on the backburner? Migrating broadcast signals from analogue to digital will free up extra frequencies on the radio spectrum, which telecommunications companies need to reduce the cost of data.
Government has also bowed to pressure from within the ruling tripartite alliance and from pressure groups to extend social relief grants to the vulnerable and UIF payments to workers who are still at home. Though some still believe the R350 falls way short of addressing the hunger needs of the destitute.
A day before Ramaphosa’s speech, Eskom announced stage 3 load-shedding, but the grid seems to have miraculously recovered on the night of the state of the nation address.
The announcement of successful bidders for the provision of 2,000MW of emergency is highly anticipated, but the country will be more interested in when this additional power can be added to the grid to minimise power cuts. Ramaphosa also announced the amendment of Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act to allow new embedded generation projects, which could unlock up to 5,000MW of power. This will come as a relief to industries that have indicated they have the capacity to generate their own electricity and can relieve the national grid.
The ministers of land reform and of water and sanitation must explain how the two new agencies on land reform and water infrastructure are going to work, and whether they won’t be another bureaucratic layer requiring additional financial support from the depleted fiscus.
On the fight against the coronavirus, given how badly government has handled the initial supply of vaccines, Ramaphosa was confident the first 80,000 of Johnson & Johnson’s nine million vaccines would arrive next week. “The health and safety of our people remains our paramount concern,” he said.
He further broke down the social and economic relief package he announced last year. The jury is still out on whether it’s actually a R500bn package.
R200bn of this package is in the form of a loan guarantee scheme, a partnership with the banks to support small businesses, of which only R18.9bn has been dished out because banks remain risk averse.
On promises contained in his economic reconstruction and recovery plan, Ramaphosa boasted of progress in infrastructure rollout, an increase in localisation, and the expansion of generation capacity. He gave a report on the Lanseria Smart City, a pet project, which he says will become home to between 350,000 and 500,000 people in the next decade. But this is a Gauteng government project that long precedes his economic recovery plan.
He further broke down the social and economic relief package he announced last year. The jury is still out on whether it’s actually a R500bn package.
On the issue of localisation and reducing import reliance by 20% over the next five years, the president mentioned 42 products earmarked for local production. They include edible oils, furniture, steel and personal protective equipment.
Work that had gone into increasing poultry production was also mentioned.
“SA now produces an additional one million chickens every week,” he said.
Ramaphosa was subdued when acknowledging another delay to March 31 in the process of licensing high-demand spectrum, a key promise he made last year but has been the subject of legal wrangling between the regulator and telecommunications companies.
“We hope the ongoing litigation on the licensing matter will provide legal certainty and will not unduly delay the spectrum auction process.
The president started his address by imploring on South Africans to emulate the fynbos to survive the ravages of the coronavirus. The Cape fynbos, part of our rich ecosystem, has to burn out every 20 years to rejuvenate itself. “Like a wildfire that sweeps across the mountainous ranges where the fynbos grows, a deadly pandemic has swept across the world, leaving devastation in its path. And yet, like the hardy fynbos of our native land, we too have proven to be resilient in many ways.”
He must understand the level resilience of South Africans is equal to the quality of their country’s leadership.
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.