SONA 2025: How can we move from rhetoric to action?
by Jon Foster-Pedley and Monde Ndlovu
The president speaks of hope and progress, but without action and delivery that changes lives on the ground, South Africans will be marooned in the geopolitical storms raging around us.
South Africa cannot afford another year of empty promises. Last month, the President spoke eloquently of hope and progress in his State of the Nation Address, and outlined new initiatives to shake economic growth out of its torpor, including infrastructure investments totalling over R940 billion over three years, public sector reform, and anti-corruption measures.
But for many South Africans, the SONA felt more like the SAMENA. A ‘laundry list’ of recycled promises. Less a roadmap to a better future and more a carefully crafted performance designed to appeal to the broad spectrum of the political landscape – with an eye too, on the international investment community. But can we afford to be middle-of-the-road at this critical juncture?
Yes, collaboration and statesmanship are necessary, but we also need action – and fast. Especially as we now have a veritable geopolitical (*!)storm raging around us. If we don’t enact real transformation and find our feet in the global world order, we risk becoming a political football, kicked to the sidelines.
At a recent post-SONA seminar hosted by the BMF, Henley Business School and Alexander Forbes with panellists Professor Bonang Mohale, Mpho Molopyane, and Dr Rutendo Hwindingwi, three key issues were flagged: capability building, tackling crime and corruption, and boosting accountability. Job creation alone won’t save the economy
The economy can create all the jobs in the world, but without relevant skills development, we won’t have anyone to fill them.
Just about all of South Africa’s woes can be traced back to the critical need for capacity building. Transformation cannot be merely a slogan; it must be rooted in skills development, capability building, and opening doors of opportunity for all South Africans. This requires dismantling the structural barriers that perpetuate economic inequality, including the entrenched dominance of oligarchs in key industries.
Breaking down these patterns and expanding the economic pie will require a concerted effort not just to boost economic growth to above 3% as the President suggested by fostering a more competitive business environment and nurturing the growth of globally competitive companies in strategic sectors, but also in making sure that this reaches the informal economy and the disenfranchised. For instance, can we work together to really empower the township economy, perhaps through the professionalisation of the spaza sector, for example? Furthermore, can we find ways to capacitate South Africans to deliver world-class business services to the rest of the world without leaving the continent?
Stolen money is wasted money
President Ramaphosa announced aims to strengthen whistleblower protections and enforcement against financial crimes as part of broader anti-corruption efforts in South Africa, but critics question whether this goes far enough. Leaving aside the question of corruption at the state level, South Africa is also seeing an alarming rise in crime, particularly within the business community. This is increasing the cost of doing business and harming South Africa’s investment ratings, which in turn erodes economic growth and stability. With the US President recently signing an executive order that pauses the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a law that prohibits bribery of foreign officials by US companies, we can probably expect to see an escalation in international corruption, which can only end badly for African economies if we are unprepared on our end.
This is why organisations like BLSA and BUSA are rightly prioritising this issue, and together with government, we all need to work to develop and implement effective strategies to combat crime and corruption at every level. Equally important, however, is to move beyond the rhetoric and focus on productivity. We need to build companies that work efficiently and effectively. This would include ensuring that lousy managers and leaders are replaced with competent, capable and ethical people. Productivity brings transparency, and transparency drives out corruption. If we are not prepared to act, then all the measures in the world won’t change the outcome.
Without accountability, we are just kicking the can down the road
Africa is rightly proud of its philosophy of ubuntu. But as Dr Hwindingwi says, without action, ubuntu is just ‘kumbaya’. We need clear, measurable targets to hold the government accountable to ensure that SONA promises don’t become just another exercise in kicking the can down the road. How can we strengthen oversight bodies and enhance transparency while also making sure that these crimes are detected and the perpetrators punished?
Business, too, needs to shoulder its fair share of accountability. Are we aligning with corporate governance codes and training our leaders to be ethical and wise?
South Africa is not a poor country, but a poorly managed one. The challenges we face lie in getting the right resources to the right (skilled) people at the right time. The shocking revelation that 127 KZN government officials cannot read or write, alongside the fact that only a third of South African municipalities received clean audits, underscores the scale of the problem. This, coupled with the excessive number of deputy ministers in the Government of National Unity, points to a bloated and inefficient state apparatus all of which are issues that we need to tackle.
The clock is ticking, and the window of opportunity for meaningful change is shrinking. That we get this right is vital, not just for our own country, but for Africa as a whole. South Africa is the largest economy on the continent, responsible for around 20% of intra-African trade. If we fall, Africa falls.
This isn't a time for grandstanding or divisive rhetoric but for wise heads and collaborative and courageous action. It’s up to us to create our brave new world, and it starts with investing in each other.