Publications
Partners
South Africa as a nation is not in an entirely bad state but certainly not a good state. Since 1994 as the new political leaders took power, the state of our nation has been that of “biekie biekie maak baai”. To date many amongst the people of this South African nation have been wondering with a deep sense of worry, why every president continues to deliver the state of the nation address that says nothing serious about the state of the citizens in a free and democratic country like ours Mr President.
To some extent many like myself who have been at great pains to want to understand and simplify the state of the Nation, we have been left to wonder with great worry that all the presidents since 1994 have said things that are not entirely the reality of the nation.
Every year a new theme is adopted, every year there is great emphasis on the acceleration of service delivery, every year there is great emphasis on corruption bursting, every year there is great emphasis on the improvement of education, every year there is great emphasis on increasing the number of entrepreneurs, every year there is great emphasis on reducing crime and abuse and every year since 1994 the SONA prepared script is given more firepower in words for people to continue holding on to hope.
Mr President must know that some of the same things can be said a lot of times with new words and vigour, but to continue saying the same things to the same people will at some point mean nothing of value or substance. Perhaps Mr President it is now time that you listen to the State of the Nation by the Nation through their own mouths and experiences.
Mr President the State of the Nation since 1994 has been that of white people who continue to live a prosperous life since 1994, the state of our Nation has been that of black young people who continue to be drop-outs at school and thus making them have a very bleak future.
The State of the Nation Mr President is where the people of some villages in Libode in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape where electricity is still a wild dream, in Jozini also Mr President at a place called Hlalanathi the moon and the sun are the only lights people know. Mr President whose State of the nation address is it anyway, when we still continue to have farms called Kaffirfontein in Steynsrus(Free State), surely Mr President the State of the Nation address is not directed to us when to today we continue to have street kids roaming the streets of Johannesburg and Welkom without any concerted effort to help them from the state.
We have heard from the Auditor-General Mr President that over R60 billion was unaccounted for as a result of people not being accountable for serving the republic.
Mr President if the State of the Nation address was a true reflection of our living conditions, we would never even bother to disturb you. But we are forced to disturb you Mr President because, we want to know whose state of the Nation address is it anyway that you Mr President and all those who came before you represent and reflect on.
Mr President we believe that it is high time that the State of the Nation address is told as it is, the issues of poverty, crime, no electricity, unemployed youths, corrupt black people, corrupt white people, companies that continues to see black people as nothing but working tools, service delivery that is of poor quality including the issue of the bucket systems that continue to entrench the legacy of apartheid must be made the national agenda.
Mr President you are becoming old and many of the current National leadership are old too, at some point we will have to take power as the rightful heirs of this God given land. By the work that we will sweat for will give us the possibility to change our own living conditions, we are going to make your legacy and those that came before you to be shown as nothing but a slow period of development and empowerment in our lifetime that was supposed to be fast-tracked.
Because a lot of things Mr President are going to drastically change for the better.
We advise you that for now because you still have the opportunity to leave the state of the Nation in a good way, we urge you to vigorously achieve that mission in your lifetime of truly accelerating the effort to change the lives of the majority of citizens for the better.
Our patience Mr President has ceased to be patient, we live every day to seek to change this sad state of our nation and the time will come when everyone has been mobilised, as we continue to engage and mobilise in great awareness campaigns amongst the people as activists.
When that process has been completed Mr President, we shall rise up to get back our power that we have voluntarily given to you and those who came before you in every election since 1994 and the people's power shall revert back to the rightful owners who are the people. Then the people correctly so will determine their own future, craft their destiny and consolidate their determination to truly achieve the society of prosperity and better living conditions.
We shall ask again Mr President whose state of the Nation address is it anyway?
Themba Vryman is a social activist and writes in his impersonal capacity.
