It's been a full couple of days, but I finally read Pres. Mbeki's State of the Nation Address (SONA). As I went through, I tried to remind myself that it is an Executive Summary of the state of affairs, previewing the year ahead and that more flesh would be added during the coming week by the various Ministers.
As someone who has, unlike many people around me, enjoyed the poetic slant of many of Thabo Mbeki's speeches, I was disappointed that this one was all but void of the idealistic voice.
As expected, the ESKOM Power Crisis featured prominently, with an apology to South Africans for the situation, but no executive action to end Eskom's electricity supply monopoly or hold the responsible Ministers accountable for the oversight, following public calls for their dismissal. He did say that he expected us to work together to get through the crises and assured the world that we would deliver the best FIFA World Cup in 2010.
The matter of the incorporation of the Scorpions into SAPS received attention with reference to plans to overhaul the criminal justice system, as did the uncertainty amid Jackie Selebi's prosecution.
Mbeki acknowledged that Healthcare, Poverty Eradication and Service Delivery programmes were all in need of enormous (almost last ditch) effort to improve the lives of all South Africans. HIV/Aids and Zimbabwe, issues Mbeki is often accused of slighting, made it into the speech.
It was a speech themed as 'Business Unusual' and called for Public Servants, Business and Citizens to roll up our sleeves and devote all our energies to improving the current unstable conditions we find ourselves in. Yet, despite the President's intro which created the expectation that his speech would answer our need for the truth, it didn't really provide any indepth insights regarding the state of our political leadership.
As I continued through the speech, noting the points raised, there was one point that hit me like a ton of bricks. It referred to the introduction of a schools' pledge (of allegiance?), which would be unveiled by the Education Minister shortly. Where did that come from?
You see, in June last year, I wrote to the Presidency, like I wrote to various businesses and relevant organisations incl. the International Marketing Council (IMC) seeking their support for the SA Patriot Initiative. I received a reply that same month from the Presidency (Rev Frank Chikane) asking me to expand on my introductory letter, which I did (providing details of our Vision, Mission, Plans, etc.), including prominently, the SA Patriot Commitment Statement. After numerous inconclusive follow-up queries, I assumed that our efforts were just not that important to the powers that be. And now, more than 6 months later, this announcement about a pledge for school pupils. I don't know what it will be called officially, certainly not a Commitment Statement. I wonder what it will say, don't you?
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