Opposition parties expect President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Opening of Parliament to come up with a clear vision for the next five years underpinned by getting back to basics, the reform agenda and interventions containing time frames to address the country’s challenges.
Bosa leader Mmusi Maimane said the Opening of Parliament was not a “business as usual” occasion for Ramaphosa or the country after the ANC was forced to co-govern South Africa.
“This will require painstaking compromise, but the optimistic view is that it hands the President a golden opportunity to push forward a reform agenda which was previously unpopular within his own party,” Maimane said.
“Ideally, the President needs to strike a delicate balance between taking stock of where we find ourselves as a nation, and providing assuring leadership as to where we are headed in the coming years,” he said.
Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi said the Opening of Parliament should not be punctuated by jargon, flowery language or pie in the sky proposals.
“Our plea is that President Cyril Ramaphosa table a vision for the next five years, underscored by getting the basics right so that all 60 million South Africans can live happy and dignified lives,” Zibi said.
Cosatu parliamentary counsellor Matthew Parks said Ramaphosa should respond decisively to society’s challenges and set clear interventions and time frames.
“The government needs to appreciate that workers are anxious and uneasy about the Government of National Unity.
“The President and Cabinet need to assure workers with a clear commitment to protect workers’ hard-won rights and to maintain the transformation agenda we have embarked upon since 1994,” Parks said.
Parliament said it was all system go for the Opening of Parliament.
National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza said the Opening of Parliament served as a pivotal platform for Ramaphosa to articulate the administration's comprehensive plans and long-term vision for the term.
The Opening of Parliament is held against the background of the recent constituting of the Government of National Unity (GNU) after no party won an outright majority in the May 29 elections.
“The Opening of Parliament is therefore also a unique occasion that celebrates the resilience and strength of our maturing constitutional democracy,” Didiza said.
The Cape Town City Hall, now designated as a parliamentary precinct, was selected as the venue as part of cost-containment measures, and to accommodate all the MPs.
Secretary to Parliament Xolile George said they have budgeted between R6 million and R14 million for the event.
“The reason we budgeted in that range is about looking at cost factors. In the last sitting in February, we budgeted R8.4m,” he said.
“The actual expenditure may be less or it may be slightly more depending on the reconciliation that we will be doing, but this is the amount we provided for the nature of the event and scale,” George said.
Cape Times