South African official opposition leader Tony Leon has suggested that President Thabo Mbeki’s State of the Nation speech should signal a return to the “rainbow nation” philosophy.
Mbeki is to open Parliament on Friday with the annual State of the Nation speech.
In an address to the Pretoria Press Club on Wednesday, Leon said: “If President Mbeki were simply to say the following words during his State of the Nation address on Friday, he would receive a renewed mandate from the people, and he would deserve it.”
On reconciliation he should say: “Our history cannot be forgotten. But we cannot let our past become a burden on our future. We cannot judge each other in terms of race. We must return to the vision of the rainbow nation and celebrate all that it means.”
On employment: “I will make a political commitment to placing economic growth at the forefront of every single government policy. I will also ask the minister of labour to make the labour laws more flexible, and to take the two-tier labour market that the government is introducing in the expanded public works programme and extend it to the private sector as well.”
On poverty: “I am introducing a basic income grant of R110 per month. I will make a personal commitment to alleviating poverty by ordering that the presidential jet be sold and that the proceeds be spent on improving the lives of the poor. We also need to ensure that [the] government — at every level — spends the full budget that is allocated for social spending.”
“Last year, for example, gross underspending by the national and provincial government on social services amounted to nearly R1,3-billion. That could have funded basic income grants of R110 per month for nearly a million people for an entire year.”
On crime, Leon suggested Mbeki say: “We must make sure that 12Â 000 new officers are added to the force every year for the next three years. I will ask that courts deny bail to anyone who is previously convicted of a violent crime. I will instruct the minister of safety and security to publish crime statistics on a monthly basis that include crimes reported at national, provincial and station levels.”
On corruption: “I will ask Deputy President Jacob Zuma to take leave until he has cleared his name of the allegations that have arisen as a result of the charges against Mr Schabir Shaik [his financial adviser]. I ask Parliament to create a special ad hoc committee under Section 69 of the constitution to fully investigate the procurement process under the arms deal.”
On HIV/Aids: “I acknowledge here and now that Aids is indeed caused by the HI virus. I will declare a national health emergency that will allow South Africa to bypass patent laws and provide our citizens with urgent access to life-saving medicines. And I will create a new ministry for HIV/Aids that will deal specifically and exclusively with the pandemic.”
On Zimbabwe: “I will not permit the assets of South African firms and individuals to be seized by the Zimbabwean government. I will instruct the minister of foreign affairs that our new approach to Zimbabwe is to be based on the idea of a ‘road map’ to democracy. I will support a European Union decision to extend and strengthen ‘smart sanctions’ against the Zanu-PF leadership.”
Leon said after all of this, the president would need to make one more declaration: “I will not seek to change Section 88 (2) of the Constitution and I will not seek a third term as president”. — I-Net Bridge