State of the Nation Address: What consumers want to hear

What do cash-strapped consumes who are battling to make ends meet want to hear from the president when he delivers his State of the Nation Address? Not more promises and deadlines, that we know.

In an open letter to the president, Neil Roets, CEO of DebtRescue, starts with a simple question: Where to from here Mr President? “When you deliver the State of the Nation Address (Sona), 60 million South Africans will be listening with the hope that you heard their voices and took cognisance of their plight.”

He reminds the president that in last year’s Sona he promised bold and decisive action to address the country’s urgent challenges. “It is true that many boxes have been ticked off, but the overwhelming consensus is that government still failed to reflect any real sense of urgency in the face of the country’s severe economic crisis,” he says.

“Right now, millions of South Africans battle daily to simply survive a cost-of-living catastrophe, the likes of which we have never seen before. Spurred on by a prolonged and unprecedented energy crisis that plunges households and businesses into darkness for several hours daily, with economic growth set to slow to a standstill for the foreseeable future and jobs and livelihoods being lost at a rapid rate, people are buckling under unparalleled financial pressure.”

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Grim scenario for consumers: high prices, no work

He says the scenario is grim for the man on the street and it is a picture that needs to be painted. “None of this is new of course. It simply needs to be pointed out while there is still someone listening. These are the issues that need urgent attention to avert the speeding train from hurtling off the rails completely.”

Roets says at the risk of sounding like a broken record as he has raised his voice repeatedly to urge government to pay attention to the daily battle of millions of struggling consumers, it is time to listen to the people who are in very deep trouble and have reached the end of their tether.

With South Africa’s unemployment rate that is still one of the highest in the world, at an unacceptable 32.9%, which means that 1 in 3 people are not working, have no income and have no way of putting food on the table, job creation is a priority, especially since PwC predicts that a significantly lower number of new jobs will be created in South Africa in 2023 compared to last year, while it expects the downward trend in the unemployment rate seen in 2022 to reverse and start pushing higher.

“We need a plan to turn this around Mr President.”

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Load shedding woes

Roets also says the repercussions of load shedding pose a serious threat to the lives and livelihoods of people, as well as food security, at a time when over 80% of families are battling to put enough food on the table as a result of spiralling food prices.

According to a DebtRescue survey conducted last year, a shocking 93% of South Africans were forced to throw away food that was spoiled in refrigerators, while 38% had to replace their fridges due to power outages at a time when two-thirds of the population can no longer afford three square meals per day.

“Why is it that South Africans have yet to feel any relief on their pockets when shopping for food, while the rest of the world has benefitted from decreases in the prices of food items, reflecting the effect of falling global prices and improved supply chains?”

He also refers to the “unwelcome and untimely announcement by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) of a massive 18.65% increase in electricity tariffs for the 2023/24 financial year, that seems like a very bad joke.

“I understand that the rolling blackouts cost the economy as much as R900 million per day and that small businesses are hit hardest, but what of the toll it is taking on the ordinary South African? Why are we expected to pay for the corruption and mismanagement at Eskom? And how much longer can we all manage to live in darkness and despair, while government issues yet another four-point plan to tackle the crisis?”

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A concrete plan for energy at the State of the Nation Address

Roets asks Ramaphosa to present a concrete plan for the energy crisis on Thursday. “South Africans need some urgent relief because we simply do not have the capacity to ‘hang in there’ for much longer.”

He also emphasises the “relentless interest rate hikes” over the past year which had devastating consequences for indebted South Africans who are paying even more to service their home loans, vehicle loans and credit debts.

“The latest hefty rate hike has pushed the prime lending rate to 10.75%, the highest it has been since 2009. The upshot of this is that it has pushed up debt instalments on the one side of the budget and cost of living, in the form of food, transport and electricity has increased on the other. The result? More consumers are defaulting on payments and being forced into debt counselling.”

He urges the president to give answers and provide clarity in his State of the Nation Address. “We would like an understanding of what it means, especially as it pertains to the lives of ordinary South Africans. And, of course, crucially, what he plans to do about it, not by next year or the year after, but now. We need to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel Mr President, and in our homes.”