Cape Town – South Africans must unite and work together to tackle all the challenges that are currently facing the country.
The President said the economy was a top priority in his engagement with CEOs of top companies when they met ahead of his State of the Nation Address. He said partnerships are important in tackling the challenges.
President Zuma was at the National Assembly responding to a two-day debate on his State of the Nation Address on Thursday.
In a response that lasted almost 90 minutes, the President spoke about finding economic solutions, government’s response plan to the drought, the fight against corruption, expanding the country’s energy mix and investment in education, among others.
“South Africa, like many emerging markets, faces challenges but we have time and again succeeded where others thought we would fail.
“We can still succeed if we work together. We have solved many problems that no one ever believed we would ever solve because we are a unique nation,” he said.
The President thanked all members of Parliament from the ruling party and opposition benches for their constructive debate and contributions.
The President said as he outlined in last week’s State of the Nation Address, South Africa, an open economy, was not immune to the global economic meltdown, and that other emerging markets like China, Russia and Brazil were also faced with turbulent times.
He said government has, after holding four meetings with business recently, prioritised economic growth and elevated talks to Cabinet level.
Stimulating growth and creating jobs are a high priority for government, and the President said with government, business and labour working together to implement the National Development Plan, it is important for political parties to join in on fight to mitigate the challenges.
He said Cabinet agreed that while there is very little government can do to influence global challenges, domestic constraints, like addressing electricity challenges, could be tackled.
He said government was also implementing the Nine-Point Plan.
President Zuma said SA’s positives far outweigh the negatives and this includes, among others, nine million children attending school without paying fees and receiving free meals, allowing them to concentrate in class, and 571 schools being provided with water, 410 with decent sanitation and 294 being connected to the electricity grid. Government also plans to connect 2 892 schools to the internet this year.
On youth development, the President said government adopted the National Youth Policy last year. He urged big business to work with the National Youth Development Agency to mentor young business people.
He said government was strengthening the fight against corruption, and that 463 asset forfeiture unit cases worth about R2 billion have been finalised by the Asset Forfeiture Unit.
On crime, he said it was important to root out violence from schools.
He announced that as part of the SA Police Service Back to Basics Strategy, two new units will be established this year, one dealing with drugs and one with illegal firearms.
“Now is the time for us to unite and harness this power and provide leadership and direction to our people during this difficult time.
“We have a good plan which was produced by South Africans, the National Development Plan.
“Working together, we can make a visible difference and make progress and we can. Together we can move South Africa forward, not for the benefit of one party but for the benefit of the country and its people. Now is the time for us to unite and harness this power and unite,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
