Cape Town - When President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his much-anticipated State of the Nation Address (Sona) later this week, he needs to be aware that the level of trust among South Africans is at its lowest ebb.
Due to several broken promises that he has made in the past, ordinary citizens no longer take his utterances or those of his government seriously.
As Ramaphosa delivers his first Sona since he won the fiercely contested presidency of the ANC in Nasrec last year, he should galvanise his team to work harder, because the promises he makes will be scrutinised by the opposition and a sceptical public.
He should also be mindful of the fact that beautifully constructed speeches and sound bites will no longer cut it with the public. People are tired of load shedding, crime, rising unemployment and the ever-increasing cost of living.
First and foremost Ramaphosa’s Sona address should seek to put specific time frames on what the government is planning to do to reduce and ultimately get rid of load shedding. He needs to be explicit about how this is going to be achieved.
He should remember his previous statement made in 2018, when he told the country that “load shedding is a thing of the past and it’s over”.
In his 2021 Sona, Ramaphosa said “restoring Eskom to operational and financial health is the government’s top priority”. As we know today, none of these promises have been fulfilled.
Dealing decisively with the unemployment crisis facing the country is perhaps the biggest challenge confronting Ramaphosa and his administration.
A clear and long-term programme that will reduce youth unemployment has to be implemented if the government is serious about dealing with crime and service delivery protests.
The safety of South Africans should top Ramaphosa’s agenda when he delivers his Sona on Thursday.
At the moment, citizens don’t feel safe in their homes or in public spaces.
Urgent attention should be given to the many Community Policing Forums working hard to keep their communities safe.
Rather than delivering a series of promises, Ramaphosa’s address should be about getting things done. Failing which, he faces the real danger of going down in history as the president who said a lot, but delivered very little.
Cape Times