[miningmx.com] – PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma’s state of the nation address (Sona) last week, had the opposition fuming and analysts confused, but the ANC and its alliance members went home happy.
Zwelinzima Vavi, secretary general of Cosatu said there was many things that made Cosatu smile. “(The president’s comments on) infrastructure programs, especially human infrastructure – roads, electricity, water, all of that is good stuff.’
Vavi said Cosatu liked the “settlement of the whole debate on youth interventions and also that there was no mention of a youth wage subsidy as part of those interventions. That’s very good.’
Vavi also said Cosatu liked the settlement of the discussion on essential services (in education). “Essential services mean that education is a top priority but does not include that workers must not exercise their rights to strike.’
On the comments relating to Zuma’s National Development Program (NDP), Vavi admitted some concern.
“The NDP, seemingly, is becoming the new freedom charter of 2013. There was no overall comprehensive articulation of a new growth path and a need to move away from the current growth path that simply reproduces unemployment, inequality and poverty,’ Vavi said.
“In our view, the NDP is not going to be the answer to the structural problems South Africa’s economy is facing. We like the goals of the NDP but the instruments it proposes spells another 1996 all over again, another GEAR program. Also GEAR had laudable aims, growth, employment and redistribution. The NDP also has laudable aims, but won’t deliver any of those things,’ Vavi said.
Jackson Mthembu, ANC spokesman, said the party had never sought to remove teachers’ right to strike. “That was never on the table.’
Mthembu said the ANC welcomed Zuma’s speech and believed it to be a “status update on work being done’.
“There can’t be big announcements made every year. The Sona is really just a progress report and the progress that was reported by the president was welcome,’ Mthembu said.
Given that the biggest surprise that came out of the Sona address related to land reform, agriculture representative body AGRISA had less kind words for the SONA address.
Zuma stated that government will not be able to meet land redistribution targets set in the 1990’s.
“From 1994, we have been addressing the land reform problem through restitution, redistribution and tenure reform,” he said.
“Government’s mid-term review last year revealed a number of shortcomings in our land reform implementation programme. We will use those lessons to improve implementation. We must shorten the time it takes to finalise a claim. In this regard, Government will now pursue the “just and equitable’ principle for compensation, as set out in the Constitution instead of the “willing buyer, willing seller’ principle, which forces the state to pay more for land than the actual value.”
@jamesstyan
