“Put South Africa First,” Says Zuma in Subdued Speech

In a conciliatory and subdued speech before Parliament on Thursday, President Jacob Zuma said to put South Africa first and then spent most of his speech addressing the problems in the economy, education, the drought and crime. On the same day, a no-confidence debate in Zuma was scheduled for March 1.

In a very quiet chamber, with few interjections – in contrast to the president’s SONA2016 speech last week and the opposition responses the past two days – Zuma said, in a speech that went out of its way to placate the business sector, that government, business and labour appeared to be closer than in the past and were working together for South Africa.

He said that after his meeting with CEOs from numerous companies over the last month, it was important for South Africa to consider the eight-point plan they had put forward. He also addressed the issues of education, crime, the drought, among other things, all of which had been raised during the past two days by members of the opposition.

“Let us put the country first, this time around,” he said, in a speech that called for people to come together and work together for the betterment of the country, and to fight against racism in all its forms. For some his “put South Africa first” comment might have been a way of undoing the damage he had caused when he said at an ANC gathering in 2015 that the ANC came first, the country second.

Said one tweet while the speech was going on: “We are seeing a new #Zuma here, conciliatory, subdued, almost pleading. Closest thing you will get to an apology.”

“We (the government) are determined to implement the steps we have committed ourselves to in order to alleviate the most binding constraints to growth,” Zuma said.

These included continued investment in infrastructure, improving management and governance of state-owned enterprises “that are facing difficulties” (many have said this refers to South African Airways and Eskom, among others), appointing the right people with the appropriate skills, expanding the energy mix, producing reliable broadband access, promoting black ownership of industrial assets, and finalizing amendments to the mineral and petroleum development act to end uncertainty in the mining sector.

Zuma repeated that the government had taken a decision last year that from 1 September 2015 all future laws and regulations will be subject to socioeconomic impact assessment before being passed. He mentioned numerous steps – such as the appointment of a Procurement General for government – that would save millions of rand.

In talking about education, Zuma said more than ever was being spent on education, although he referred mostly to school education – he did not specifically refer to the #FeesMustFall movement at universities. He also congratulated “the girls” in schools, saying “The girls are beating the boys hands down.” It was one of only two or three times during his speech that he chuckled.

Only a few hours before Zuma’s speech, the parliamentary roster was released confirming a date for a no-confidence debate in him, which was asked for by the Democratic Alliance.

“The people of South Africa have lost confidence in Jacob Zuma and hundreds of thousands have expressed their intention for Zuma to fall. Now Zuma can fall, in January 2016, when Parliament can take up the cause of enraged South Africans and can vote President Zuma out of office,” the DA leader Mmusi Maimane was quoted as saying at the time.

In dealing with crime in his speech, Zuma announced the creation of two new units, both of which would fall under the Hawks, that would deal with drugs and related transgressions, and another to deal with the proliferation of firearms.

He thanked a member of parliament who had raised the issue of foreigners owning land in South Africa – which, if the bill is passed this year, means land will have to be leased – and that it would discourage foreign investment. Zuma said the bill deals with “agricultural land”, although he did not elaborate.

Zuma said nation building was as important as economic development. “If there is anything this country must agree on it is the fight against racism,” he said ” We must unite in eradicating this evil from our country. Together we must build a nonracial nonsexist prosperous South Africa.” For this reason the month of March had been marked as a month to promote human rights.

“We are South African, let us emphasis not our colour but that we are South African.”

Zuma commended Maimane for telling people last week to sit down after the Economic Freedom Fighters walked out of parliament, so that the nation could hear what the president had to say. Although he said Maimane at that point descended to the level of the EFF.

“I think we should change. We are not doing good for our voters, people who took the decision to send us here. What is it they learn from us? I believe all of us sitting here we know the rules we know the laws we know there’s everything (sic). If the presiding officer (and we all agree you cannot speak when you are not recognized) and you continue all the time, disrespecting the presiding officer, it is a direct undermining of honorable members.”