The four councillors who spoke to Fourways Review on 9 February said the Sona came at a time when the nation was in a panic due to bad decisions Zuma had recently made.
Ward 115 councillor Chris Santana was blunt and said he expected Zuma to announce his resignation during his Sona. “What more can he say that can give hope except to announce his resignation?” asked Santana in an exclusive interview with this paper.
Santana maintained that anything short of that will eat away what little confidence investors have in the South African government.
“The Rand will further plummet if he does not give people confidence by not stepping down,” added Santana.
Stephen Moore of Ward 106 expects the President to instil confidence in the financial sector by guaranteeing stability in the economy of the country following dubious changes he made in the Ministry of Finance.
Moore also called upon the President to be clear on the need for municipalities to spend money correctly by addressing service delivery issues which he described as important elements of good corporate governance. “Simple things like traffic light disruptions, potholes in our roads and additional resources to schools are very important to residents,” said Moore.
Diepsloot DA councillor Refilwe Mathebula came out fighting and accused Zuma’s government of having lost their mission statement script. Mathebula said she expects Zuma to deliver an electioneering Sona by making more promises. “I urge Zuma to put the brakes on promises because his government is promising too much without delivering on those promises. There are pre-1994 promises which are still to be fulfilled. He must refrain from promising more RDP houses,” said Mathebula.
She said that Zuma must upgrade roads in Diepsloot, widen streets and combat crime.
Ward 96 councillor Matome Mafokwane advised Zuma to stay away from any language which has the potential of further damaging the confidence of investors in his leadership. “He must avoid controversy and must not speak about economics – which he does not understand – but must concentrate on easy concepts like service delivery and housing backlogs,” said Mafokwane.
He also expects Zuma to unpack youth empowerment projects which his government has been pumping money into. He added that youth empowerment projects have the capacity to lower crime because they bring hope to the youth.
“If the youths are assured of the next meal by being involved in the economic activities of the country, they won’t be frustrated into turning to crime,” said Mafokwane.
Economic Freedom Fighters president, Julius Malema, has threatened to disrupt Sona if Zuma fails to answer questions relating to his unceremonious axing of Nhlanhla Nene in December.
Also read WATCH: EFF marches for Zuma to ‘pay back the money’
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