President Cyril Ramaphosa. (@PresidencyZA/X)
President Cyril Ramaphosa came out fighting on Thursday in response to opposition criticism of his eighth State of the Nation address, saying the last chapter of ANC rule had not yet been written.
He acknowledged, with some grace, that his speech last Thursday was always going to be read and rubbished in the context of the elections and that derision was to be expected.
He switched to Afrikaans, for the second time in his speech, to reference the idiom “die hoogste bome vang die meeste wind” (the tallest trees catch the most wind).
“We are on the campaign trail … and yes, I know I will also catch the fiercest wind, but I catch it on behalf of the people of South Africa,” he said.
It was not going to deter him from extending the rhetorical narrative of “Tintswalo”, the story of a young woman born after the fall of apartheid to experience rights the regime had denied her parents.
Ramaphosa asked the National Assembly to welcome a group of so-called born-frees — pilots, engineers, sailors and doctors — sitting in the balcony of the chamber.
“Here they are,” he said.
“We continue with the story of Tintswalo. Everyone who would have been born after our democracy is a true Tintswalo, whether they like it or not.
“They are Nelson Mandela’s children and they also have as an uncle or a father many of you who are seated here.”
He conceded that some members of this generation had not got jobs after probably benefitting from state-subsidised education but added “they have been touched by the hand of this democratic government”.
Some were present in the chamber, others were outside and the government remained committed to improving the lives of all of them, he continued.
“This government wants to improve their lives because it works on the basis that it should leave no one behind,” Ramaphosa said.
“We have been building a new society rooted in the equality promised by our Constitution — equality of rights, of fundamental freedoms and of opportunity. Since attaining our freedom 30 years ago, we have been on what Steve Biko called a quest for true humanity.
“For us, true humanity means a South Africa that protects and cares for its most vulnerable, a South Africa that guards its hard-won constitutional freedoms and a South Africa in which every person is able to realise their full potential.”
That said, Ramaphosa added, the government recognised that this generation faced many challenges. Many South Africans, young and old, were concerned about the state of the country, he acknowledged.
Crime, notably state capture, unemployment and the lack of service delivery counted among their primary concerns, Ramaphpsa said, before seeking to blame this on the legacy of apartheid.
“We must confront the lasting effects of our apartheid past, which remain visible as we travel from suburbs to informal settlements, from rich farmlands to poor villages.”
Without mentioning his predecessor by name, he also cast some of the blame on the government of former president Jacob Zuma.
“For the last five years, we have worked to get back onto the path towards a better life for all. Over the last five years, we have made significant progress in restoring our economy to growth and to create jobs.”
With an election coming up where the ruling party risks polling below 50% for the first time in three decades, analysts predicted that Ramaphosa would have little option but to campaign on the broad brushstrokes of the democratic gains achieved in that period.
On Thursday, one commented that the president, who nearly resigned in late 2022 when he risked impeachment over the Phala Phala scandal, seemed to have found renewed vigour ahead of the biggest political battle of his career.