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GNU’s Golden Dream — dare we be hopeful?

GNU’s Golden Dream — dare we be hopeful?
Stephen Grootes
By Stephen Grootes
21 Jul 2024
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With the coalition government having stated through President Cyril Ramaphosa its intention to focus on growing the economy and creating jobs, there is a strong case to be made for optimism about South Africa’s future. At the same time, there are valid reasons for holding jubilation in check.

On paper, many of the necessary elements are in place that will result in improved lives for millions in South Africa in dire need.

The stated aim of the new government is to focus on economic growth. As President Cyril Ramaphosa put it in his Opening of Parliament Address on Thursday, “The Government of National Unity will pursue every action that contributes to sustainable, rapid economic growth and remove every obstacle that stands in the way of growth.”

While previous leaders have said the same thing, none have had the broad support that Ramaphosa appears to enjoy, on paper at least.

Fully three-quarters of those who voted in the 29 May election cast their ballots for parties that support the Constitution. Some will see this as a decisive vote of confidence in the current system, which shows that those who want radical change have a huge mountain to climb.

Also, there is the President himself.

He has tried hard to ensure that institutions are protected and their independence entrenched.

It is to his immense credit that for the first time in our history as a nation-state the prosecuting authority is independent, and, insofar as is known, not under any political pressure at all.

Also, so far at least, the coalition government is working, despite the odds.

Crucially, it is not just the ANC and Ramaphosa who say this, but other parties too.

The DA leader, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, spoke on Wednesday to ensure that his constituency knew he was happy with the speech that would be delivered on Thursday. His statement, matched by Ramaphosa on Thursday, that they can still discuss National Health Insurance, the one major public point of difference between them, suggests there is hard work under way to minimise that difference. 

Operation Vulindlela


There are other reasons for optimism.

One of the major demands of the DA was for Operation Vulindlela to continue and even expand into a second phase.

Crucially, this will build on previous successes, which have seen the private sector playing a greater role in helping the government provide services.

The importance of this cannot be overstated. It means the coalition is not starting from scratch, but is adopting a process which is already under way.

Then there is the wider context.

The SA Reserve Bank estimated that load shedding cut roughly two percentage points from the country’s economic growth.

With no load shedding now for a solid quarter, this alone means our economy could soon start to grow again.

Also, the minister of electricity and energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has said South Africa’s future will depend on renewable energy. He wants to be “ultra-aggressive” in taking the country in this direction.

In the short term, this will lead to more electricity becoming available more quickly and in the longer term, it will help save the planet.

And while the SA Reserve Bank did not cut interest rates on Thursday, there are strong indications that the interest rate-cutting cycle will soon begin.

To sum up; we have a (re-energised) reformist President, leading a broad coalition with wide support, pledging economic growth in a manner with which most political leaders agree.

This is surely the moment at which things can change, the economy can grow, and, hopefully, life for many will improve.

Bitter experience


However, there are reasons for the streets being devoid of jubilant South Africans.

Bitter experience has taught us that while ANC leaders can make all sorts of promises, not much changes in real life.

As Daily Maverick’s Ray Mahlaka has pointed out, some of the promises Ramaphosa made on Thursday have been made before. Many times.

Sometimes, these promises, some made by previous presidents, have been breathtakingly cynical.

Jacob Zuma once promised, with a straight face, to appoint leaders to the National Prosecuting Authority and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), after refusing to appoint a head for the SIU for more than 18 months.

Then there is the bitter experience of our politics.

Such is the structure of our diverse constituencies that even the politics within parties can be difficult. It almost beggars belief that people from parties as different as the PAC and the FF+ can now work together.

The fact that so many politicians have fought only for their own constituencies in the past cements a widely held view: that parties in the coalition will remain in the government only for as long as it suits their interests.

They might decide to leave the moment it appears they could lose support in the next election.

Then there is the other one-quarter of the vote that went to the EFF and MK, both of which want radical change

One of the striking images of the events leading up to the Opening of Parliament Address on Thursday was the sight of MK MPs walking up the road into the chamber.

They were chanting “Zuma” as they did so. This is another indication, and perhaps even a warning, that this party is all about one man. A man who has shown time and time again that he is willing to fight against the Constitution and wants to take us back 150 years.

Local government


The scale of the job ahead is crucial.

Take the promise to fix local government.

Virtually every decision that will have to be taken to do this will be intensely political. Decisions will have to be made about whether the parties in the national coalition will work together in local government. This would force the ANC in Gauteng to stop working with the EFF in two big metros.

That would be the easy part.

It is almost impossible to imagine that local government can be fixed by the people who are currently in senior positions in councils. Asking those who presided over the councils’ demise to now fix them makes no sense.

And yet, their removal is highly unlikely.

Then there are some of the Cabinet ministers.

Gwede Mantashe, the ANC chair, is still in charge of mineral resources. He has presided over the complete failure of the cadastral system.

Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams is still the minister of small business development. While she has provided a spirited defence of her track record, there is little public evidence of her making any progress.

And of course, while the biggest party in the coalition, the ANC, has promised many times to stop corruption, Zizi Kodwa is still an MP, despite being arrested and facing criminal charges.

All of this provides room for cynicism.

One of the most important sentiments keeping our society together is hope, the possibility that tomorrow will be better than today.

Unfortunately, our politicians can no longer rely on this vital emotion.

They want us to believe that life will improve.

They now need to prove it. DM

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