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RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 3233

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 
 
CAPE TOWN 00000029  002 OF 002 
 
 
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.