President Cyril Ramaphosa met the expectations of South Africans in this year's State of the Nation Address but was rather ambitious and may have promised more than can be delivered, analysts have warned.
Ramaphosa delivered this year's Sate of the Nation Address (SONA) last week Thursday to a nation with high expectations with many concerns.
Amongst the main topics which needed to be addressed were state-owned entities like Eskom and SAA, and more importantly, basic services and economic growth which has slowed over the last few years. Ramaphosa spoke at great length about government's plans for Eskom, saying that loadshedding was inevitable for the foreseeable future. In following up with a promise made last year, Cyril Ramaphosa said that there is a smart city being developed in Lanseria, Gauteng, which is expected to house 350 000+ people within 10 years. This week on The Special Focus on Salaamedia, I asked two analysts their opinion on SONA 2020. "It had a lot of spending ideas. These ideas are genuinely part of the ANC's attempt to improve its governance record. But, when you look at the broader reality, you have to acknowledge that the President delivered more promises than are affordable," said Hermann Pretorius, a senior political analyst at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR). Sociopolitical commentator and founder of Politricks SA, Jimmy Ramokgopa believes that the President met the country's expectations. "He was trying very hard to address the immediate concerns. He elaborated a lot on power and alternative energy sources - those were what potentially a lot of investors were focused on." However, Ramokgopa added: "At the same time, I must agree on terms of certain things being rather ambitious." Listen to the full interview here:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorZahid Jadwat is a South African writer, columnist, podcaster and radio show host. Archives
March 2021
Categories
All
|