Parliament – What a difference 10 minutes can make. Once Parliament had been cleared of his most vocal opponents, many of them by force, Jacob Zuma started a State of the Nation (SONA) speech that would have seemed fitting in the most sedate of countries.
His final SONA as leader of the ANC started very dramatically, with disruptions and delays on various points of order soon turning into threats and scuffles and finally ejections from Parliament.
Points of order made by various Economic Freedom Front MPs included the oft-repeated claims that Zuma had broken his oath of office. On this occasion the complaints were expanded to include accusations of skulduggery, including that members of the National Defence Force, who were present, had it in for the EFF MPs with plans using “biological weapons”and the less obviously dangerous cable ties.
The country held its collective breath as Zuma tried to push ahead with his speech while being shouted down. Parliament soon descended into chaos, which escalated until EFF MPs were violently ejected. Mmusi Maimane led his party out in protest afterwards.
As the opposition parties regrouped outside Parliament, some of them quite battered and bruised, Zuma started his speech by calling on some safe old favourites. This was safe ground indeed, it would be hard to upset many in South Africa by paying tribute to such heroes as Oliver Tambo and Miriam Makeba.
With the House quieter and more friendly, Zuma talked about how much had been achieved in the last few years, including “successfully avoiding a credit ratings downgrade”.
On the economy
He said collaboration with business and labour has yielded results.
“While the global economic environment remains uncertain, indications are that we have entered a period of recovery,” he said.
“We anticipate an economic growth rate of 1.3 percent in 2017 following an estimated 0.5 percent in 2016,” he said.
This is the projection that has been made by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
A process to amend the Competition Act is set to start this year so government can deal with market concentration, which is crowding out small businesses, Zuma said on Thursday.
“Two key challenges we face is the high levels of concentration in the economy as well as the collusion and cartels, which squeeze out small players and hamper the entry of young entrepreneurs and black industrialists,” Zuma said while delivering his 2017 state of the nation address.
Zuma said while much had been done to deal with cartel behaviour, including the criminalisation of collusion which carries a 10 year jail sentence, there are still sectors where a small group of people control most of the market.
“During this year, the Department of Economic Development will bring legislation to Cabinet that will seek to amend the Competition Act,” he said.
“It will among others address the need to have a more inclusive economy and to de-concentrate the high levels of ownership and control we see in many sectors. We will then table the legislation for consideration by parliament.”
On land ownership
After calling for greater black business ownership, Zuma set out the transfer of more land to black South Africans as another key priority in his State of the Nation Address.
“We will not achieve true reconciliation until the land issue is resolved,” Zuma said in his address, after the Economic Freedom Fighters MPs were dragged out of the National Assembly in the worst violence seen since the party began challenging his legitimacy.
Zuma quoted known figures confirming that only eight million hectares of the country’s 82 million hectares of arable land had been transferred to black owners.
He urged beneficiaries to retain land instead of opting for financial compensation, saying it was regrettable that black involvement in farming had declined sharply last year, with their retreat from the land conceivably hastened by the drought afflicting the country.
“We appeal to land claimants to accept land instead of financial compensation. This is very important,” he stressed.
“If you accept finance you use it in short time, it is gone, it is important that you remain with the land, not the money.”
He added that perhaps it was a failure when the post-democratic government initiated land reform, to give claimants the option to choose compensation.
Zuma told MPs he had referred the Expropriation Bill, passed by the National Assembly last year, back to Parliament, saying it would not pass constitutional muster.
“This is due to inadequate public participation during its processing. We trust that Parliament will be able to move with speed in meeting the requirements so that the law can be finalised to effect transformation.”
The bill is aimed at repealing the Expropriation Act of 1975.
On crime
Zuma on Thursday vowed that the fight against crime was an apex priority of his government.
“The fight against crime is an apex priority. The police will increase visible policing, building on the successful pattern of deployments utilised during the safer festive season campaign,” Zuma said.
“They (police) will also utilise certain specialised capabilities, such as the tactical response team and the national intervention unit, to assist in addressing problematic high-crime areas. We received a message from Soshanguve last week that crime is rife in Block L and that hijackings and robberies are high. It is such communities that need to build stronger partnerships with the police to ensure that criminals do not prey on residents.”
Zuma said other measures to fight crime nationally will include the establishment of specialised units, focusing on drug-related crime, taxi violence and firearms. He also punted the enhanced utilisation of investigative aids such as forensic leads.
“The police will also enhance the utilisation of the DNA Database in the identification of suspects. We urge the public to work with the police to ensure safer communities,” said Zuma.
“We welcome the decline in rhino poaching incidents since October 2015 which is for the first time in a decade. This arises from intensive joint operations by law enforcement agencies. One of the strategies of fighting crime is to ensure that those who are released from prison do not commit crime again.”
The president said the correctional services department is working continuously to turn South Africa prisons into correctional centres through offering various services and skills.
“As a result, compliance levels with parole and probation conditions have improved to reach a historic mark of 98 percent. The country has also made good progress in reducing the numbers of children in correctional centres,” said Zuma.
On education
The president also said government would pump more money into higher education.
The Heher Commission will finalise its work this year on higher education funding.
Zuma said all deserving students will be fully funded.
On the Esidimeni tragedy
Zuma also promised to overhaul the healthcare system following the deaths of 94 patients in Gauteng.
He has instructed Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to fully implement the recommendations of the Health Ombudsman to take back some of the powers from provinces.
Zuma said Motsoaledi would have to get back some of the functions that were taken from the national department in 2003 in the caring of mental patients.
This legislation would have to be brought to Parliament and give Motsoaledi the powers to run the mental health facilities.
The tragedy cost Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu her job after she quit and opposition parties also want Premier David Makhura to go.
After his speech, Zuma went to the Grand Parade to address ANC supporters at the party's first People's Assembly.