‘The president has done a lot to mop the floor but the roof is leaking’

MANDLA RADEBE writes:

The long awaited State of the Nation Address (SoNA) was delivered, the budget speech has come and gone, but the post-SoNA debates revealed interesting issues.

Interestingly the ANC didn’t try to protect the President like they did regarding the Nkandla issues, but their protection of the ANC and its achievements was fiercely glaring, accompanied by veiled frankness about the challenges facing the country. Not completely honest but a step in the right direction considering previously displayed arrogance. Not completely clear about the future vision for the country as well. Comedic performances and cheerleading expertise from the likes of Tina Joemat-Peterson, Nomvula Mokonyane, Lindiwe Zulu, Sihle Zikalala, Julius Malema and the DA’s Hon Julius were expected. This year being the election year served as the fuel to the fire.

Clearly both the ruling and the opposition parties were extremists in presenting their victories and concealing their failures but the truth is they both have failed and succeeded in different areas; they both need to work and work harder. The ANC’s mandate is huge, at national level, but monetary wastage is unjustifiable, so is the expensively bloated cabinet, mediocre public service, cluelessness on the economic management, lack of policy certainty and future vision, the politically created rifts between government, opposition and business and ANC leadership’s careless and hurtful language against business and opposition parties. It appears convincing that a divided South Africa seems to be in the ANC’s interest.

However, opposition was also not covered in glory. The DA sang the praises of the Western Cape’s successes several times. They were also labelled racists several times, which I think is unfair. Every party has at least one racist. However the question has to be asked of the DA; with one province to govern, why is there such a glaring housing crisis in Western Cape’s townships, where is the progress in Imizamo Yethu, Khayelitsha, KhayaMnandi, Gugulethu etc, why can’t they build houses for the poor, especially if national government provides for it? A housing crisis is a breeding ground for other crises. Neglecting it makes all allegations about them believable.

I cannot say anything about the EFF, they brought nothing to the table, except their leader’s comical speech. Personally, I will never vote for any elected party that is not in parliament half the time due to expulsion for the circus they cause. IFP displayed matured sobriety to everything, but the crucial point came from Pieter Mulder, who with limited time, took leaders to task on race issues in SA, particularly the muted response to the “Kill all whites” writing on the t-shirt of a black UCT student. Without insulting anyone, he stuck to the point, warning about perils of generalisation on race and ‘stolen land’. Well done Pieter, despite standing for white Afrikaner interest only, you have a role to play and it’s appreciated. Despite his monotonous poetry about ‘black lives matter’, Buti Manamela asked an excellent, off-the-script question to service delivery protesters: “Why burn a school if you want a road built?” Maybe, he needs to ask this question to his comrades, he has both the access and the platform to reach them.

The words of the IFP’s Mntomuhle Khawula summed it all up; “the president has done a lot to mop the floor, but the roof is leaking”. Both ruling and opposition parties need to fix where the problem exists, instead of performing comedy. Stop bombarding voters with slogans, as you will do in the local government elections. Serve your communities.