President Kgalema Motlanthe faces an awkward time on Friday as he delivers a State of the Nation address after only five months in office ahead of much anticipated general elections.
Analysts say the end of the current government’s term of office has been marred by its ouster of former president Thabo Mbeki, and Motlanthe will have to flash ruling African National Congress (ANC) achievements while being mindful of his role as caretaker.
The ANC, seen as dictating to Motlanthe during his short term, has been in two minds over the need for the State of the Nation address amid the pomp of the traditionally glamorous opening of Parliament.
”It is one of the awkward State of the Nation addresses. There has been intra-ANC contestation over whether there should really be one given it is an acting president delivering it. That will place certain constraints [on Motlanthe],” said political analyst Susan Booysen.
There has been much speculation that Motlanthe will announce the exact date of the election, the only excitement in what is expected to be a low-key speech.
Booysen, from the University of the Witwatersrand, said that a State of the Nation address was usually weakened when another one was due shortly after elections, which are expected in April or May.
”I really think it is quite a low-key statement, although the ANC would want to flash its achievements and its plans. It is almost going to have the character of an election speech.”
She said Motlanthe was likely to refer to plans for job creation and rural development, much the same as the ANC’s election manifesto.
The ANC has undergone a wave of political turmoil in recent months, sparked by the corruption trial of its president, Jacob Zuma.
A damning judgement by Judge Chris Nicholson that Mbeki’s government had interfered in the prosecution of Zuma led the party to force the former president to resign after eight years in office. However, an appeals court subsequently overturned Nicholson’s judgement in a scathing ruling that said the judge had overstepped his judicial boundaries and made several mistakes in interpreting the scope of his role.
The damage was already done, however, and a number of ANC leaders broke away to form the Congress of the People (Cope) in the wake of Mbeki’s resignation, which has renewed political fervour in what has been called the most exciting election since the onset of democracy in 1994.
‘Low key’
Steven Friedman of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa said the speech was unlikely to be ”very forward-looking”.
”I would expect it to be an extremely low-key State of the Nation address.”
The annual address is at a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, and is usually used to outline the successes and plans of the current government.
Motlanthe’s position has not downplayed the fanfare of the event, which will involve a fly-past by the air force, 21-gun salute, military band, national salute by the army’s ceremonial guard and mounted police escort.
Former presidents and other dignitaries have also been invited as the current government marks the end of a tumultuous term.
”The real State of the Nation address will happen after the election and therefore one doubts if this one is as significant as the one delivered by, I think, Jacob Zuma after the election,” said political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi.
”You will see the president going through the motions, I don’t expect him to provide much detail about specific programmes going forward. I suspect he will do the courteous thing and leave a lot of the details to the State of the Nation address after the election.”
While Cope reports it has about 500 000 members, it is not expected to eat into the ANC’s colossal majority to the extent that it would lose the vote, and as party leader Zuma is set to be voted in as the next president.
After appealing the judgement clearing his name, prosecutors have now secured a trial date for August 25, when the popular leader will face charges of corruption, fraud, money-laundering and racketeering. — AFP
