‘Tis the season for the annual Mail & Guardian government report-card special, and no doubt there is a frisson of anticipation around the country as the festive-season faithful wait to thumb their way through the pages to see who has scored an “A” for achievement or an “F” for failure.
Far be it for us to disappoint those interested in the finer points of the government’s performance but, since this is a time for giving and sharing, let us in the government give you a different perspective and share an assessment of our own.
We recognise that as an exercise in satire and ventilation of opinion, the M&G assessment is not to be seen — or dreaded, for that matter — as a scientific exercise.
Still, it has become something of a sub-cultural milestone for the chattering classes and is used by many in one way or another, however mistaken, to speculate about how or what the government may have done in a particular calendar year.
We find ourselves at the end of an unmistakably momentous year in the history of our young democracy — a year in which it may be more useful to rate the nation as a whole rather than to single out the government as the hero or villain.
We can all look back with pride on our hosting of the first Fifa World Cup on African soil — a venture that established long-term economic infrastructure in the country and brought with it important, positive shifts in the international perception of South Africa.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter’s impromptu rating of the country’s hosting of the tournament as a “nine out of 10” was matched a few weeks later by market research showing that nine out of 10 international visitors to the country indicated they would readily recommend South Africa to friends and family back home.
Welcome to SA
In the course of rolling out the welcome mat for World Cup visitors, we completed the upgrade of OR Tambo International, opened the new King Shaka International Airport north of Durban and inaugurated the high-speed Gautrain.
Public transport innovations and the activity at 13 host airports no doubt eased the passage into and around South Africa of the 5,2-million tourist arrivals recorded in the first eight months of 2010 — an increase of 17,4% compared with the same period last year.
To ensure the safety of visitors, residents and citizens alike, the South African Police Service deployed tens of thousands of additional personnel to defend the gains (reflected in the 2009-2010 crime statistics) made in reducing serious violent crime.
Social challenges
In the area of another major social challenge, that of HIV/Aids, we began a massive HIV counselling and testing campaign, with the ambitious target of testing 15-million people by June 2011.
Leading from the front, the president, deputy president, ministers, premiers and civil-society leaders took HIV tests to encourage testing and to destigmatise it. This caught the imagination of South Africans and large numbers of people came forward to be tested.
In the area of human settlements, where there are more than 8 000 projects under way across the country, this was the year the president announced a R1-billion guarantee fund to support people who don’t qualify for bank credit or government subsidies.
Those benefiting from this intervention include nurses, teachers, police, prison warders, government officials, some categories of management and blue-collar factory and office workers.
The government also made available R5,6-billion in new tax allowances to encourage new projects and the expansion or upgrading of existing projects in the manufacturing sector.
While the World Cup was the most tangible, popular expression and experience of South Africa’s international relations, this historic event was complemented by the success of the multinational Ibsamar naval exercise conducted by India, Brazil and South Africa off our coasts for two weeks in September.
‘Diverse developments’
With the country engaged in so many diverse developments, including a protracted public service strike, President Jacob Zuma held the national executive to account by having ministers sign delivery agreements detailing targets for improved services.
Starting with the State of the Nation address in February and continuing to the national general council of the ruling party, the president was consistent in demanding renewed commitment, efficiency and energy from the Cabinet and the public service.
In the end, the president, as master of his own report card, exercised his prerogative to reconfigure the executive in line with his commitment to improved service delivery.
Therefore, as 2010 draws to a close, we are poised to do more and better in the new year, which also brings local government elections. This will be an opportunity for the people to assess what the government has delivered and to judge for themselves whether it will make good on promises made.
This scrutiny can only sharpen our resolve to work even harder, with all sectors of society, to make this country a greater success than it has already become in 16 years of democracy.
With our self-imposed emphasis on performance monitoring and evaluation in mind, we wish the M&G a merry report card. We wish the nation a safe and enjoyable festive season. This is a time for reflection and renewal and a time to commit ourselves to ensuring that all of us are part of the effort to make 2011 as great a year as 2010.
Enjoy it!
Vusi Mona is the deputy chief executive of the Government Communications and Information System. The M&G‘s annual report cards on government ministers will be published on December 23 as part of our year-end bumper edition