South Africa’s President, Jacob Zuma, on Thursday night, delivered his much awaited state of the nation address.
It was not devoid of the drama which marred the 2015 edition. After several disruptions, two opposition parties staged a walkout.
When the dust settled, the President got down to deliver a long speech which touched on the nation’s history, the economy and nation building.
Specifically he talked about new measures to cut wastage in government, which include a reduction in overseas trips and size of delegations.
President Zuma also touched on power, drought, a need to boost the business sectors, especially small businesses.
A judicial commission of enquiry has been set up to look into higher education, following the string of protests over fees and outsourcing recorded since late last year.
Of course various reactions have trailed the president’s speech; positive and negative, depending on the side of the political fence the respondent stands.
Channels Television’s South Africa correspondent, Betty Dibiah spoke to a research fellow of the Helen Suzman Foundation, Mr Aubrey Matshiqi, who said that the speech shows the government is more worried about the assessment of ratings by agencies than what can be done to earn plus points from the people.
