Dressed in a suit and shirt made locally by the Foschini Group and leather shoes from businesses based in Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg, President Cyril Ramaphosa touted the need to buy locally produced products in his State of the Nation Address on Thursday evening.
Localisation was one of the key points on the president’s agenda as he highlighted the electricity crisis, job creation and the social relief grant.
On Eskom, Ramaphosa said the power utility had established a separate transmission subsidiary and homed in on several new electricity generation projects that would come online in the next few years.
“Eskom has established a separate transmission subsidiary, and is on track to complete its unbundling by December 2022. The utility has continued with its intensive maintenance programme, to reverse many years of neglected maintenance and underperformance of existing plants.”
He said when there was a breakdown of electricity, the economy cannot function properly, and the electricity crisis is one of the greatest threats to economic and social progress in the country.
If Eskom and electricity generation was his signature focus then Transnet formed the second basis of his speech.
Transnet will work with private partners to improve its capacity in both KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape with the performance of the state-owned logistics group declining in the past few years.
“Transnet has developed partnerships with the private sector to address cable theft and vandalism on the freight rail network through advanced technologies and additional security personnel,” said Ramaphosa.
Curiously, there was no mention of further bailouts for state-owned enterprises as has been the case in previous SONAs.
The president also pledged to end the national state of disaster with the country approaching two years of being under some form of lockdown and extend the R350 social relief of distress grant for another year.
“It is our intention to end the national state of disaster as soon as we have finalised other measures under the National Health Act and other legislation to contain the pandemic.”
He said the grant had helped more than 10 million people who were most vulnerable to the economic effects brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and that the extension of the grant could not come at the expense of delivering basic services or become unsustainable.
“Mindful of the proven benefits of the grant, we will extend the R350 SRD Grant for one further year, to the end of March 2023. During this time, we will engage in broad consultations and detailed technical work to identify the best options to replace this grant.”
Ramaphosa also mentioned the cannabis industry in his speech and said soon smoking the plant would not be the only way they are used.
“The hemp and cannabis sector has the potential to create more than 130,000 new jobs. We are therefore streamlining the regulatory processes so that the hemp and cannabis sector can thrive like it is in other countries such as Lesotho.”
On State Capture, the president was unequivocal that it did, indeed, happen and that he would respond to the Zondo Commission reports by the end of June. Ramaphosa also accepted the help of the private sector in prosecuting cases related to State Capture and special court rolls would be implemented to deal with the cases in a speedy manner.
“We have gratefully acknowledged the offer of support from the private sector to assist in providing those skills which we lack in government to enable investigation and prosecution of crime.”
“While the definitive conclusion has yet to be delivered at the end of this month, the first two parts of the report make it plain that there was indeed state capture.
“This means that public institutions and state-owned enterprises were infiltrated by a criminal network intent on looting public money for private gain,” he said.
In case you missed it, you can read through the president’s entire SONA speech here.
In the markets this morning, “We have seen some risk aversion as markets digest the effects of the stubbornly high inflation on interest rates and the Dollar. The Dollar has firmed quite sharply in the Far East, pushing EM currencies weaker, and we have the Rand currently trading at R15.24,” comments TreasuryONE.
Gold, palladium and platinum are relatively flat this morning. Gold is currently at $1,824, platinum is at $1,019, and palladium at $2,217.
Brent crude oil is currently trading at $91.15 a barrel
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
New regulations to help end load shedding in South Africa – BusinessTech
State: Tongaat execs ‘conspired’ in fraud, Deloitte ex-partner ‘didn’t report irregularities’ – Fin24
Sona 2022: Ramaphosa says private sector can dig South Africa out of jobs and growth slump – Mail & Guardian
Global Business
McDonald’s has filed trademark for restaurant at the end of the metaverse — it will deliver – Business Insider
California sues Tesla over ‘racial segregation’ claims at factory – The Guardian
Crypto exchange Binance to take $200m stake in Forbes – BBC
Markets
Asian Stocks Down, Investors Digest Red-Hot U.S. Inflation, “Surprise” Fed Comment – Investing.com
Gold Down as Strong U.S. Inflation Data Increase Chances of Fed Rate Hike – Investing.com
Stocks slide as US inflation surges – AFP
Opinion/In-depth
South Africa could soon have its first woman Chief Justice: here’s who she is – The Conversation
A new social compact in 100 days, concrete economic announcements to fight poverty, joblessness and inequality – Daily Maverick
FNB CEO Jacques Celliers discusses the future of banking in South Africa – BusinessTech
Video
Samsung unveils its newest Galaxy S – Reuters
The Future of the Digital Dollar in the United States – Cover Media
Biotech firm aims to use drones to plant 100 million trees globally – Al Jazeera
Image: Gallo Images
