The real state of the South African Nation - DM

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Daily Maverick

Tuesday, 6 February 2024

President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his State of the Nation Address on Thursday, and it’s sure to be brimming with pomp, promises and prophesying.

Last year, Ramaphosa used his Sona speech to highlight four areas of concern that the government would be addressing urgently. Twelve months on, let’s see how they’ve done: ● The energy crisis ● The promise: A minister of electricity would be appointed to take full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis; ● The result: Minister or no minister, South Africa endured its worst year of load shedding in 2023.

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● Cost of living ● The promise: The Social Relief of Distress Grant would continue until 2025 and other social grants would be increased to combat deepening poverty; ● The result: Despite these grants an estimated 13.8 million South Africans live below the food poverty line ● Unemployment ● The promise: Unemployment would be addressed through the expansion of the Employment Tax Incentive and further recruiting by the Social Employment Fund; ● The result: Unemployment sat at 31.9% at the end of Q3 2023, with 47% of South Africans reliant on a social grant. ● Crime and corruption ● The promise: Strengthening of the SAPS to prevent crime and increased capacity at the National Prosecuting Authority; ● The result: In Q3 of 2023, South Africa’s per capita murder rate for 2022/23 was the highest in 20 years.

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Not to put too fine a point on it but if your spouse made this many broken promises, it would be over by now.

So what of the 2024 edition of soon-to-be-broken promises?

If the President’s speechwriters were in touch with reality, his address would go a little something like this: Fellow South Africans, we’re in trouble. Deep trouble.

Load shedding is crippling the economy.

Inefficiency and dysfunction at our ports and on our rail network are destroying our export market and crippling local development.

At least 4.9 million young South Africans are unemployed.

With 81% of children aged 10 unable to read for meaning, the future of the next generation doesn’t look any better.

Corruption is the language of our leaders.

Our political system is broken.

But don’t worry, that’s all going to change.

Trust us.

Trust politicians? Thirty years on, even the most optimistic have lost faith.

But there is still hope.

There is a national election this year and an informed electorate can save South Africa by using their vote to enact change.

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Daily Maverick doesn’t have a paywall because we believe the truth should be available to all South Africans, not just those who can afford it.

Five years ago we started Maverick Insider, our voluntary membership programme where readers, who think the work we do is valuable, choose whatever amount they like and contribute monthly or annually.

Since then 27,000 people have become members.

It’s these members who are paying the salaries of our journalists.

But their contributions are nowhere near enough for the projected costs of our investigations and journalism in 2024.

The choice is simple: A South Africa reliant on the promises of politicians or a South Africa informed about the real state of the nation.

We need your help. South Africa needs your help.

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