Political side shows won’t detract from the achievements of his two terms in the Presidency, writes Edna Molewa.
Johannesburg - All South Africans with an accurate understanding of the progress the country has made under President Jacob Zuma’s leadership should be confident that we are on the right track.
It is regrettable that with the political power struggles being played out in public, truth has become the first casualty as some seek to relegate the past eight years of the Zuma administration to the rubbish bin of history.
Whether it is providing policy and legislative certainty and clarity around economic developments, rolling out
massive infrastructure, creating jobs,
supporting small businesses or transforming our economy to make it more inclusive, we should judge him on performance versus perception.
Zuma delivered his inaugural State of the Nation Address (Sona) on June 3, 2009, barely 10 months since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the US which triggered the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Whereas his predecessor governed when the world and the country was experiencing an economic boom, Zuma assumed office as the world was entering a recession.
As the World Bank noted in a December 2008 report, “the crisis also impacted the real economy” amid declining house prices and vehicle sales, slowed manufacturing production, a shrinking mining sector and increased retrenchments.
The report further noted that in
2008, “unemployment, inequality, poverty, crime and HIV/Aids continue to plague
the country”.
Overall, the report’s authors noted: “Growth is expected to slow down, which is a risky proposition for South Africa and for Africa.”
In his first Sona, delivered at the height of the global financial crisis, Zuma pledged to advance sound fiscal positions, which went a long way towards cushioning South Africa from the shocks of the global economic downturn.
The president announced 10 priorities his administration would focus on as outlined in the 2009-2014 Medium Term Strategic Framework - all the while “taking into account the constraints posed by the economic crisis”.
Attached to each commitment were detailed project plans with targets and critical milestones.
One of his first actions as president was to establish a Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.
Through this ministry, strategic planning has been streamlined and the government’s Plan of Action is measured through outputs, strategic activities and metrics, and implemented through service delivery agreements.
Members of the executive are held accountable through performance instruments, using established targets and output measures.
A year later, Zuma would constitute a National Planning Commission, a special ministerial body to develop a long-term strategic vision for South Africa.
In 2012 the commission produced the National Development Plan, this country’s first long-term blueprint for eliminating poverty, reducing inequality and growing the economy.
If we are to use the president’s pledges made during the 2009 Sona as a yardstick, the facts speak for themselves.
The president promised that the government would implement measures and policies to speed up economic growth and transform the economy to create decent and sustainable livelihoods.
In line with this commitment we have an Industrial Policy Action Plan, produced by the Department of Trade and Industry.
In addition, the New Growth Path produced by the Department of Economic Development is geared towards improving the performance of the economy, boosting investment and creating jobs.
The president promised that his administration would introduce a massive programme to build economic and social infrastructure.
Under Zuma’s leadership the National Infrastructure Plan was developed. It is being overseen by the presidential infrastructure co-ordinating committee.
The committee has developed a 20-year planning framework that extends beyond any single administration, “in order to avoid a stop-start approach to infrastructure rollout”.
Eighteen catalytic strategic integrated projects have been developed, which cover social and economic infrastructure around the country - from human settlements, broadband infrastructure, water and sanitation services to ports and railways, energy and electrification.
South Africa is one of the top 10 investment destinations for renewable energy thanks to the Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme, introduced by this administration.
Building new infrastructure and upgrading existing ones has been a focus of Zuma’s administration; earlier this year, former finance minister Pravin Gordhan announced that the government would spend R50 billion to fund economic infrastructure requirements.
This massive infrastructure spend hasn’t just supported our integration into the economies of the continent but has also created jobs and strengthened the delivery of basic services to our people.
When Zuma assumed office in 2009, 82.7% of households were electrified. In 2013 this figure stood at 85.4%. Ninety percent of households are connected to piped water and 78% have access to adequate sanitation - up from 72.4%.
Significant strides have been made in broadening access to education during his two terms. The number of people with no formal education or low levels of education has decreased and stands at 16.2%. Grade R enrolments doubled between 2003 and 2011 and the national matric pass rate stood at 78.2% by 2013 - and is steadily improving.
Zuma promised that the state would improve access to higher education for children from poor families.
In 2008, the year before Zuma assumed office, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme provided R2.4 billion in funding, excluding the additional funding by the Department of Higher Education and Training.
Zuma promised that his administration would drive job creation through the Expanded Public Works Programme. Since 2014 the programme has created more than 2 million work opportunities.
By far one of the greatest successes of his administration has been in the field of healthcare.
Life expectancy has increased from 56.8 years in 2009 to 59.6 last year.
This can be attributed to this government’s interventions to combat TB and HIV/Aids. In addition, South Africa’s antiretroviral programme is cited for international best practice by the UN Aids Programme.
Progress is being made on the rollout of the National Health Insurance scheme and the first post-apartheid health sciences university, Sefako Makgatho, was established to train our health professionals on meeting the needs of our population.
Zuma’s administration presides over the rollout of one of the largest social security nets in the world. In 2009, more than 13 million people received social grants. Today that figure stands at more than
17 million men, women and children.
Contrary to the narrative being driven by certain sectors of society around the perceived failures of the Zuma administration, having achieved all the above despite prevailing economic conditions is no small feat.
When arguing the merits or otherwise of this administration, we should be armed with the facts and not be distracted by those with self-serving political agendas.
* Edna Molewa is chairperson of the government’s international co-operation, trade and security cluster and the Minister of Environmental Affairs.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.