PRESIDENT MOTLANTHE'S STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAPE TOWN 000029

SIPDIS
E.O.12958: N/A

TAGS: PREL PGOV SF
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT MOTLANTHE'S STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS

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Summary
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1. (U) President Kgalema Motlanthe, the unelected "caretaker"
president of South Africa, delivered his first and only State of the
Nation Address at the opening of parliament on 6 February 2009.
Motlanthe found himself in a unique situation as, not only is he
essentially holding office for ANC President Jacob Zuma after the
dismissal of former president Thabo Mbeki, he delivered the address
three months ahead of a general election. Despite credible rumors
that Zuma supporters within the ANC preferred that Motlanthe's
speech be downgraded to a parliamentary statement rather than a
presidential address, he successfully avoided overshadowing the
"president in waiting" Jacob Zuma. End Summary.
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Motlanthe Addresses the Nation
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2. (U) President Kgalema Motlanthe, reading directly from his notes
from a speech crafted by the left-over speechwriters of former
president Thabo Mbeki, periodically glancing at his audience,
delivered the president's State of the Nation Address at Parliament
on February 6, 2009. Elevated to the presidency following the ANC
decision in September 2008 to recall Thabo Mbeki, Motlanthe has the
distinction of receiving neither an electoral mandate nor the
unequivocal support of the ruling party. He acknowledged the unique
circumstances that led to his unusual presidency and praised the
seamless transition and continuity of government, largely due to the
maturity of South Africa's constitutional system; but primarily to
Mbeki's cooperation and willingness to step down. He was expected
to tie his address to the goals set out under the Mbeki
administration, and he spent much of his speech addressing past
achievements. He noted the construction of 2.6 million subsidized
houses and the provision of potable water to 88 percent of the
population and electricity to 72 percent. Ninety-five percent of
South Africans now lived within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of a clinic
or hospital, while more than 690,000 had signed up for treatment for
AIDS, he said. The government also pays income grants to 12.4
million impoverished people. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the
gap between the rich and the poor was wide and that too many South
Africans still lived in abject poverty.

3. (U) Looking forward, he highlighted challenges such as the
effect of the global economic recession on South Africa, crime and
corruption, quality of education, and the ongoing political crisis
in Zimbabwe. On the economy, he set the stage for Finance Minister
Trevor Manual's budget speech on 11 February by saying that the
global economic meltdown does pose serious dangers for the South
African economy in terms of job losses and the quality of life of
the South African people. Motlanthe said that "whatever economic
storms may pound our shores, whatever political uncertainties may
visit our collective consciousness in a transition - our nation is
in a good state," which received a loud round of applause from the
audience The South African economy is strongly integrated into the
world economy and, for this reason, demand for its exports have
dropped. He warned that a lower demand has precipitated a scaling
down of production, and the creation of jobs is negatively affected
and in some sectors retrenchment has become a reality. He said
"combined, these developments bode ill for the revenues we need to
expand the provision of services and to implement our infrastructure
projects. As such, we have been forced to tone down our forecasts
Qprojects. As such, we have been forced to tone down our forecasts
in terms of growth and job-creation."

4. (U) He proceeded to highlight some of the steps the SAG will
undertake to minimize the effects of the economic crises such as
adapting industrial financing and incentive instruments to help deal
with challenges in various sectors. He encouraged development
finance institutions to assist firms in distress because of the
crisis. He said public sector employment programs will be
intensified. Plans to expand employment in sectors such as health,
social work, education and law enforcement will continue and the
government will speed up the introduction of the next phase of the
expanded public works program.

5. (U) On crime and corruption, Motlanthe said the increase in
violent robberies at homes and business premises was a matter of
great concern. Apprehension about violent attacks is a daily
experience in both poor and affluent neighborhoods and, although the
crime rate has consistently declined since 1982 in the aggregate,
progress in this regard has not been fast enough. Of particular
concern was the fact that sexually based crimes against women and
children has not abated. He singled out how the increase in some
crime levels pointed to various weaknesses within the criminal
justice system. "It points to systemic weaknesses in the criminal
justice system, from investigation of crimes to rehabilitation of
offenders [and] it points to weaknesses in the efficiency of the
court system, both in terms of technical and other infrastructure
and management." These were issues that the current comprehensive
revamp of the criminal justice system had started to address. (Note:
Crime and corruption are two controversial issues that troubled the
President in recent months. On his short watch, the Directorate of
Special Operations (aka, the "Scorpions") has been disbanded and the
reasons surrounding the axing of national director of public
prosecutions Vusi Pikoli remain suspiciously vague. Detractors
suggest that the ANC disbanded the premier law enforcement agency

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because its actions led to the successful prosecution of too many
ANC leaders. End Note)

6. (U) Motlanthe said he is concerned at the trend that schools in
rural and impoverished areas lack infrastructure and capacity.
"Ironically, precisely where education is most needed to help break
the cycle of poverty is where infrastructure, administrative and
teacher capacity are least impressive". He further raised concerns
on the drop-out rate, particularly at secondary and tertiary levels,
and challenged the educational system to produce the requisite kind
of skills needed by society. The President did, however, note the
achievements of the Department of Education, listing the drop in the
teacher: pupil ratio, achieving almost universal access in terms of
enrolment at primary school level and the improvement in the number
of pupils passing mathematics as a few examples of its successful
achievements.

7. (U) Motlanthe urged the international community to help rebuild
Zimbabwe and end the humanitarian crisis once a unity government is
installed next week. He said that Zimbabwe's feuding parties had
achieved "the ultimate prize... that is, a stable and legitimate
government. Now the work of reconstruction can start in earnest,
and South Africa stands ready to assist wherever we can." He
praised Mbeki for his role as facilitator in brokering a deal
between the MDC and ZANU PF and stressed that there was an urgent
need to deal with the growing humanitarian crises in that country.
He said he was confident that the international community would
assist the Zimbabwean people. He continued by congratulating the
People's Republic of China for their ten year relationship with
South Africa and also congratulated Cuba (to loud applause) on their
50 year anniversary of their attainment of sovereignty. He also
extended congratulations to Tanzania, Ghana and the U.S. on their
recent elections.

8. (U) Many expected the President to announce the date of the
national election, however, he said he would announce the date "in
the next few days" after concluding consultations with the
Independent Electoral Commission. He urged all South African
eligible voters to register and he expressed the hope that the
election would be dignified and peaceful.

9. (U) Motlanthe said the 2010 Fifa World Cup to be hosted in South
Africa should be used as a catalyst to shift perceptions about South
Africa and the rest of the African continent. The President
reiterated government's commitment to ensuring a successful
tournament in 2010, saying plans to host both the 2009 Fifa
Confederations Cup and the 2010 Fifa World Cup were on track.
Motlanthe also used the occasion of the State of the Nation Address
to congratulate South African sportsmen and women who have excelled
in the past year.
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Comment
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10. (U) Today's State of the Nation address was no doubt tricky for
President Motlanthe, especially on the eve of an election in which
his role is still unclear. As an unelected president, serving a
caretaker role for a president in waiting, it is not clear whether
Motlanthe will even have a place in the next government. The ANC
expressed concern prior to the speech that Motlanthe not pre-empt
what Zuma will say in his first presidential address to the nation
after the elections. There were calls from Zuma supporters within
the ANC and, in particular, from the Chief Whip Mnyameaeli Booi
arguing that Motlanthe should not give the presidential address at
all. They called for the event to be downgraded to a mere
Qall. They called for the event to be downgraded to a mere
parliamentary speech thereby underscoring Motlanthe's caretaker
status. However, opposition parties made every effort to ensure
that the event was not downgraded as some in the ANC would have
preferred, but rather adhered to the pomp and splendor as befits the
occasion.

11. (U) Motlanthe has recently come under attack from within his own
party for not adhering to party policy. In ANC tradition, he is a
deployed cadre subject to the direction of the National Executive
committee which makes policy for the party. The ANC tends to
conflate the party with the government and the recall of Thabo Mbeki
was based on the ANC's belief that he was not acting on the behalf
of the party's collective decision making process. Motlanthe's
detractors are determined that he should not supplant Zuma in the
nation's affections and have been blamed for media leaks about his
private life which are seen as a bid to discredit him as a
reasonable alternative to the legally challenged Zuma as the next
president. e.

12. (U) Note. Former deputy presidents Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and
Jacob Zuma as well as Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa Lekota
accepted invitations to the opening of Parliament, however,
ex-president Thabo Mbeki did not attend despite being invited. End
note.