Umm Muhammed Umar

City Hall in Cape Town has been declared a Parliament of SA precinct, and this was where Radio Islam interviewed Minister of Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu.

Minister Zulu said that the State of the Nation address was an  explanation by the government of what it has been able to do, but even more importantly, what it intends doing for the year 2022 – what the areas of focus would be from the perspective of the executive, as is to be delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa, on Thursday evening.

Regarding the SONA taking place outside of the normal precincts of Parliament, for the first time in the history of South Africa’s constitutional democracy, Minister Zulu said, “It’s very unfortunate that it had to be an incident, which is not a very pleasant incident, of burning of Parliament, that we had to come here. However, what is important for me now, is look at it: We pass here almost every day, like it’s not there. Of course, we always recall that the first time Madiba (former President Nelson Mandela) had to come out of prison, and he had to address (the nation) this is where he did it.” Admirably upbeat, she added, “And therefore, from a historical point of view, it is a good idea that we are here. It is reminding us of the history when my people came out of prison, and I think that they’ve done an excellent job in terms of preparing for SONA.” Significantly, Minister Zulu advised, “let us not be a nation of moaners and groaners. When something goes wrong, let’s get up and fix it.” She said,” Right now we are fixing the fact that SONA has to happen – parliamentarians have to continue doing their work; the committees have to sit, the debates has to go on once the President has made the State of the Nation, the budget has to happen in February, so the work must continue despite the unfortunate incidents that happened in Parliament.”

The ANC’s chief whip, Pemmy Majodina, when interviewed by Radio Islam, was asked what her memory of the day in 1990 was, when Madiba delivered the speech. She said she was still a schoolgirl in Soweto, trying to get to Cape Town to be part of the proceedings. When asked the same question, Minister Zulu said that she was in exile in Uganda at the time, as uMkhonto we Sizwe had been moved from Angola. It was a condition for Namibia to gain its freedom. She said, “when Madiba walked out of prison, I was watching on TV in Kampala.”

South Africans have, for many reasons, become disillusioned. The SONA has become yet another speech, with big words, and big promises, changing nothing of their cold reality. Minister Zulu said that those cold realities were of major concern to the government. She said, “it’s important for the President to say, understanding and appreciating the conditions of our people, understanding and appreciating the state of the poor in particular, understanding and appreciating the impact of poverty, unemployment and inequality – it is important for us to have the President speak to the nation and tell the nation what is this government going to do about those issues of poverty, unemployment and inequality?” the Minister added, “And of course, as the Minister of Social Development, I look forward to hearing the President talk about what is it that we’re going to continue doing in addressing the challenges of poverty…….. because the majority of our beneficiaries are those people who are poor.”

2022 is an election year in South Africa. The ANC’s factions would come under the spotlight. The President is expected to be very conservative, and not too forthright in tonight’s speech, so as not to ruffle too many feathers within the ruling party an elective year. He has been accused of having put the party before the state. External dynamics, such as the consequences of COVID, the rioting, the looting, the Zondo commission of inquiry, the fiasco around the appointment of the new Chief Justice and the interviews, have all played a role in creating a difficult period for both the ANC, and the State. Minister Zulu remained optimistic, nevertheless, saying that the ANC could rise up to meet the challenge of any given situation: “my view is that our commitment to serving the people of South Africa, even if we might have within us (those) who are probably thinking of themselves and not thinking of the people, the African National Congress will always rise to the occasion to deal with that.” She said, “I don’t want to undermine the current challenges which we have, which as you rightfully say, are both internal and external. But having been in the African National Congress in the history of the African National Congress, I know that one way or the other (we) will continue to look for solutions.” Significantly she added, “The ANC has to clean itself. As a matter of fact, ANC has to clean itself by making sure that it gets the right people to join the ANC for right reasons and not for personal gain.”

Perhaps most important of all was that the Minister reiterated that when the President addressed the nation this evening, what he said, of necessity, should be taken to heart first and foremost by members of the African National Congress.