President Thabo Mbeki was criticised for glimpsing over Aids, Zimbabwe and corruption in his State of the Nation address on Friday, but praised for his focus on social upliftment based on economic growth.
His announcement of a review of the government’s willing-seller, willing-buyer approach to land reform also drew mixed response.
Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said Mbeki set out useful, broad national goals, but relied too heavily on the public sector for delivery.
He questioned whether nearly R400-billion earmarked for infrastructure spending would be spent effectively.
The president was cursory on crime and corruption, Leon said.
”Particularly here in Parliament, we’ve got a Travelgate scandal, we’ve got an Oilgate scandal, we’ve got every kind of scandal and every kind of gate except investigate.”
Mbeki’s announcement of a review of the willing-seller, willing-buyer land-acquisition policy could threaten foreign investor confidence, Leon added.
The African Christian Democratic Party said Mbeki let the nation down by downplaying the problem of Aids.
It was also critical of the president expressing a commitment to fighting corruption ”when [the government’s] solution to this is the redeployment of guilty persons from one department to another”.
On the upside, said ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe, the president’s speech was full of optimism and hope required for the future.
For sacked corruption-accused former deputy president Jacob Zuma, who attended Friday’s special sitting, the speech had been ”very good, absolutely good, on the spot”.
But the Inkatha Freedom Party’s Mangosuthu Buthelezi disagreed, and disputed a picture Mbeki painted of widespread public optimism.
”Whereas the president said we have reached the age of hope, on the other hand, in municipalities controlled by the ruling party, there are ructions all over the country.”
Buthelezi said he would have liked to hear more on Aids.
United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa described the speech as ”an interesting sermon indeed” — with apparent reference to Mbeki’s repeated biblical quotations.
He welcomed a debate on land reform, but stressed any regulation of foreign land acquisition has to be in line with international norms.
The South African Communist Party also welcomed the land review, as well as the president’s expression of ”implicit impatience” with the financial sector ”for dragging its heels in releasing R42-billion set aside for housing, as agreed upon at the Financial Sector Summit”.
The South African Council of Churches said the address was impressive in many respects, including the issue of land reform, but disappointing in not mentioning ongoing ”repression and oppression” of the peoples of Zimbabwe and Swaziland.
”More should be done to address these pressing issues of injustice,” council deputy general secretary Eddie Makue said in a statement.
For the African National Congress Youth League, the address was a ”decisive victory for youth development and emancipation”.
The Freedom Front Plus also claimed victory, referring to Mbeki’s announcement on the impending employment of 90 experts. The composition of a list of such experts was the party’s initiative, with 1 000 CVs currently on its database.
”The FF+ will soon be handing [an] updated list to the government,” a statement said. ”In the meantime, participants on the [party’s] website are regularly being informed of opportunities that arise.”
The party was, however, concerned about Mbeki’s utterances on land reform, saying it sent a negative message to farmers.
”Despite the government’s assurances that [it does] not wish to repeat the Zimbabwe land-reform failures in South Africa, it will still be creating great uncertainty because there is no clarity on the way in which the government intends to implement it.
”At this time, there are many farmers who are willing sellers of land but are waiting in vain for the government to buy their land. To be casting this principle overboard now will be a grave mistake.”
The FF+ said it supports Mbeki’s focus on development programmes, but expressed doubts over the government’s ability to execute them.
”The fact that the provinces could not spend nearly half of their budgets in the past financial year proves this problem.”
Agricultural unions TAU-SA and Agri SA were uneasy with Mbeki’s announcement of a land-policy review.
”The government will have to take into account that no person with self-respect will willingly allow legitimate property to be expropriated due to lies,” said the TAU. ”More than enough land is annually offered on the open market where farmers are not in a position to manipulate prices.”
Agri SA said the market approach, as applied at present, should remain a determining factor in the pricing of land, even within new expropriation legislation and irrespective of the state’s objectives. — Sapa