‘No conflict that destroys the economy’
Zuma's administration will not tolerate any conflict that destroys the economy, this from his state of the nation address.
President Jacob Zuma said government will reveal its plan to deal with the pressing problems facing the country only after the elections.
Zuma’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) focused on jobs, the economy and government’s successes over the past 20 years.
He was speaking to a joint sitting of the National Assembly in Cape Town.
After extending condolences on the sudden passing of IFP stalwart Ben Skosana, Zuma moved to the death of Nelson Mandela saying, “This is the first State of the Nation Address to take place in the absence of our founding president, his Excellency Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.”
While Zuma acknowledged that poverty, unemployment and inequality are still daunting challenges, he did not spell out what government intends doing to deal with those issues.
Those details will come in the second SONA after the May elections when a new government is formed.
He said his government has spent the past year working on a five-year plan.
“The framework has been designed for the first five-year building block of the National Development Plan.”
But Zuma is keeping the details under wraps until after the elections for a new government.
Pushing the pause button on policy is a clever move, it gives opposition parties little to dissect and challenge in the run up to the polls but also keeps voters in the dark.
Meanwhile, Zuma also used his SONA to tell union leaders they have a responsibility to make sure their members don’t lose their jobs.
He appeared to depart from his prepared text when he said union leaders had to be careful that their actions didn’t cause members to lose their jobs.
It seemed to be carefully aimed at the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union which is currently on strike across the platinum sector.
Zuma appeared confident as he told his audience that South Africa has a good story to tell.
He issued an unscripted warning to both union leaders and mine bosses.
“In no way can we have conflict that destroys the economy.”
He appealed to both sides to work together.
“In the end, if these two sides don’t work together even if they have different interests it affects the economy of the country.”
The president claims government’s intervention to stabilise the sector is bearing fruit.
He said this year is the deadline for mining houses to improve their workers’ housing and living conditions.
