ANC: Self-preservation takes precedence over anything else

Amid the much-awaited State of the Nations Address (Sona), South Africans (SA) were presented with what could be described as the ANC election manifesto and defence mode.

Considering that the ANC is facing an imminent collapse, President Cyril Ramaphosa presented a Sona that sought to save his limping party, rather than providing a clear concrete plan to address the country’s triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.

Through the story of Tintswalo, the president presented the welfare programmes which have benefitted South Africa through basic services, ranging from houses, electricity, water, social grants, feeding schemes, and the National Student Financial Aid scheme.

The foregoing developments are indisputable transformation paths that the post-apartheid government has embarked on to change the lives of previously disadvantaged black people.

However, the realities on the ground mirror that the ANC-led government has failed to advance the responsibility to protect and provide, entrusted to SA as a member of the international community.

Among other things, the majority of South Africans are facing poverty, unemployment and inequality that are set to deteriorate amid the economy that gives no hope.

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The water taps remain dry in many rural areas across the country, where many people are fetching water from rivers and wells.

The infrastructure disparity between urban and rural areas persists to the extent that the movement of rural folk is curtailed during the rainy season, with children unable to go to school.

Considering all this, Ramaphosa’s Sona was a political strategy that sought to appeal to voters who feel indebted to the ANC.

For the past 29 years, the injustices of the colonial-apartheid government have been featured the most in ANC programmes, policies, and speeches, to the extent that the party seems to be preoccupied with the past, while failing to contain the degeneration of governance under its rule.

Arguably, the ruling party has reached the stage where self-preservation takes precedence over anything.

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Hence, the president opted to remind the welfare beneficiaries of the average and shoddy services that are appreciated by some poor electorates.

In terms of defence mode, Ramaphosa employed state capture and Covid as a scapegoat for the country’s challenges.

It is not far-fetched that the post-2008 ANC-led administration has developed a culture of attributing problems to the outgoing president.

During Jacob Zuma’s tenure, the government claimed to fix the damage left by his predecessor Thabo Mbeki’s administration.

Since his ascendancy to power in 2018, Ramaphosa has put Zuma’s administration at the centre of problems that are facing the country.

This has seen the coining of the phrase “nine wasted years”, which gained prominence from his supporters and sympathisers.

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However, besides the high incidents of graft and state capture during Zuma’s administration, the state of governance was much better.

South Africans were not subjected to recurring load shedding, which is normalised by Ramaphosa’s administration.

As part of addressing youth unemployment, the president cited the Presidential Employment Stimulus established three years ago.

According to Ramaphosa, the government has managed to create 1.7 million work and livelihood opportunities.

He argues that more than one million youth were employed as school assistants in 23 000 schools – and the programme has enabled them to acquire valuable work experience and improve learning outcomes.

The foregoing programme is the obscured reflection of the realities on the ground.

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The majority of assistant teachers are youth with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees who undoubtedly deserve sustainable jobs rather than those operating like the Expanded Public Works Programme rotational jobs.

It should be pointed out that many of these youth purported to have acquired valuable experience were doing menial jobs that should be done by general workers.

Some were doing admin work such as typing question papers, a phenomenon that cannot be cited as an experience for the youth that have been doing that during their days as students.

Considering this, a commitment to professionalise the public service should be advanced through the employment of youth in the sector and other positions of government.

The government should join efforts with the private sector and civil society to provide initiatives that will provide experience to students studying for degrees.

It should prioritise the development of rural areas on its multilateral development projects such as the Brics Development Bank.

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Premiers should hold meetings with residents across districts to get reports about the state of service delivery at municipalities.

The municipalities should introduce a rule that empowers communities to expel councillors who fail to provide services.

Maphaka, a lecturer at North-West University, is a master’s graduate and emerging scholar in international relations and foreign policy analysis