President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his ninth state of the nation address this week, an event that has become a national ritual of big promises, ringing declarations and impressive-sounding numbers that will be all but forgotten when the next address rolls around.
It was his ninth since the 2018 “Thuma Mina” speech, which stirred a sense of renewal but ultimately gave way to the grim reality of South Africa’s predicament, frustrating the country’s high hopes and leaving disappointment in its wake.
As Ramaphosa addressed a joint sitting of parliament at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday, residents of Gauteng were scrounging for water.
Perhaps to give the impression that he is a man of action when the opposite is more often than not true, the president dispatched water affairs minister Pemmy Majodina and co-operative governance minister Velenkosini Hlabisa to Johannesburg to deal with the crisis. That she could do anything to resolve the crisis must have been news to Majodina, who just days earlier insisted the constitution limited her from intervening in another “sphere of government”.
For good measure, Ramaphosa appointed himself head of a national water crisis committee, seeming to want to adapt his Presidency-led model of direct intervention — used during the electricity crisis — to solve this one. He appears to have forgotten that he himself designated Deputy President Paul Mashatile as the country’s new “water tsar”.
Unemployment is at record levels — which surely contributes to high levels of crime and gang activity — yet Ramaphosa has only glowing praise for the economy, with more promises of investment
Promising to prosecute lowly officials in distant municipalities for water problems may be within the provisions of the law, but neatly ignores the crisis of accountability for overlord politicians such as cabinet ministers, premiers and mayors.
The deployment of the army to crime trouble spots such as the Cape Flats and the West Rand also raises questions. While troops may hold the line against the worst of the violence, they are hardly equipped or trained to fight crime. In addition, progress will remain limited unless the contributory social and economic factors are addressed.
Unemployment is at record levels — which surely contributes to high levels of crime and gang activity — yet Ramaphosa has only glowing praise for the economy, with more promises of investment.
This being a local elections year, Ramaphosa acknowledged myriad problems in local government, noting: “Starting this year, we will work with our municipalities to establish professionally managed, ring-fenced utilities for water and electricity services to ensure there is adequate investment and maintenance.” But shouldn’t this always have been a priority?
The auditor-general, in her annual report on the chaotic state of municipal finances, has often lamented the poor management of municipal infrastructure development. None of the problems listed by Ramaphosa in his address are new or unknown. The question is: why have they not been acted on with the requisite urgency and resolve?
Crucially, what was missing on Thursday night was a clear, detailed plan to grow the economy — with measurable deliverables and timelines.
In sum, the address tried to pull off the difficult task of pleasing all stakeholders across the sectors of society as well as the government of national unity.
Whether this will be the state of the nation address that makes or breaks the Ramaphosa administration, particularly with the 2026 local government elections on the horizon, remains to be seen.
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