Ramaphosa told SA to be patient five years ago, ‘without timelines to keep him accountable’

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appealed to South Africans to be patient and to understand that behind the scenes, reforms are underway which will bring solutions that will not be temporary, but will be “sustainable and transformative”.

In his weekly newsletter, he said it was understandable the “severity of the challenges the country is facing … give rise to frustration and impatience”.

Structural reform

In an indirect appeal for people to be patient, Ramaphosa added: “Many of these reforms are being brought about by legislative and regulatory changes, which may not inspire many people, but which have a substantial impact on people’s lives and the performance of the economy.

ALSO READ: It’s stunning that Ramaphosa is still welcome in Hammanskraal

“We are committed to stay the course on structural reform.”

However, his words cut little ice with business economics professor Jannie Rossouw from the University of the Witwatersrand, who said if any business was run along the same lines Ramaphosa ran the government, it would have closed a long time ago.

Reacting to the economic turnaround strategy, Rossouw said South Africans “ran out of patience a long time ago, due to inefficiency and corruption”.

ALSO READ: ‘We are sorry’: Ramaphosa offers apology to Hammanskraal residents over water quality issues

“Now he tells us to be patient – something he said five years ago, without timelines to keep him accountable.”

Ramaphosa promises

Ramaphosa said the economy was “undergoing a fundamental transformation that will make it more competitive, inclusive and capable of growth”.

But Rossouw said: “We have heard all this before. How ironic, coming from someone who has sat on several boards of big companies as a business leader before becoming president.”

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa commits to work with Portugal on renewable energy

Referring to milestones achieved in Operation Vulindlela – a joint project of the presidency, National Treasury and other key government departments, Ramaphosa said, to date:

• Licensing requirements for electricity generation of any size had been removed, with more than 100 projects in development, representing more than 10 000 megawatts of new capacity and R200 billion invested from the private sector;
• A new ministerial determination was issued for the procurement of more than 14 000MW of new generation capacity from wind, solar and battery storage;
• Tax incentives were being implemented for businesses and households to drive a significant increase in rooftop solar installations;
• Eskom’s debt burden was being addressed through R254-billion relief, subject to strict conditions which would enable the company to make necessary investments in its infrastructure;
• An independent infrastructure manager would enable Transnet Freight Rail to establish transparent and accurate pricing of slots on its network, creating a level playing field between public and private rail operators;
• Partnerships with private operators at the Durban and Ngqura container terminals would soon be finalised; and
• A national logistics crisis committee had been established to improve the performance of ports and rail in the immediate term and drive the implementation of a freight logistics roadmap into the future.

On reforms in telecommunications, Ramaphosa said: “The completion of the spectrum auction in April 2022 has unlocked significant new investment and will enable expanded network access and reduced data costs.

ALSO READ: ‘Citizens should pay for services’ – Ramaphosa

“The gazetting of a rapid deployment policy direction, as well as a standard draft by-law for wayleave approvals, will help to accelerate the roll-out of telecommunications infrastructure such as fibre and towers.

“A final date for the switchoff of analogue transmission will soon be gazetted to complete the digital migration process.”

Reforms in the water sector are aimed “to improve water quality while ensuring security of water supply in the long term”.

He said: “The proportion of water use licence applications processed within 90 days has increased to 70% from 35%. We are now targeting a further improvement to 80% of all applications.

“This is helping to speed up investment in sectors like mining, agriculture, forestry and infrastructure.

“The Blue Drop, Green Drop and No Drop water quality monitoring system has been reinstated. This enables intervention where municipalities are failing to meet minimum norms and standards for water service delivery.”

ALSO READ: Crime stats: Police union demands Ramaphosa fires police commissioner

On immigration reform, the department of home affairs was “implementing far-reaching reforms that will make the work visa system more agile and responsive to the realities of the new world of work and attract higher numbers of tourists”.

– brians@citizen.co.za