SACP Press Statement on President Zuma's State of Nation Address

The SACP warmly welcomes both the tenor and content of President Zuma's State of Nation address to Parliament this morning.

President Zuma clearly located the new government's cornerstone priority as the fight against poverty. He located this priority within the context of persisting challenges within our society and a global capitalist crisis and domestic recession. We welcome his assurance that the crisis and recession will not be a reason to abandon our ANC-led election manifesto policies and commitments. While the pace of change might be affected, President Zuma was categorical that we will not alter our strategic direction.

The SACP further welcomes the indication that the Framework Agreement for SA's Response to the International Crisis (concluded in February this year between government and its social partners) will guide the new government in the key short-term strategic responses to be made to the recession.

However, it is quite clear that President Zuma has committed his government to pursuing not just short-term defensive measures, but also to sustaining our state-led R787bn infrastructure construction programme and to enhancing our industrial policy programme with an emphasis on the creation of decent work. Together with other strategic programmes announced in the State of Nation Address, our infrastructure and industrial policy programmes must help to put SA on to a new, more inclusive and equitable growth path.

Over the past years the SACP has run a series of popular mobilisational campaigns around health-care, rural transformation, public transport and transforming the financial sector, including our Developmental Finance Institutions. We are pleased to note that many of the themes and policy perspectives that emerged from these campaigns now find their place within official government policy.

Finally, we welcome the emphasis placed by President Zuma on our collective responsibilities. The emphasis he placed on active citizenship and on participation by communities in popular participatory organs like Community Policing Forums is absolutely correct. Together we can and must do more!

Statement issued by the South African Communist Party, June 3 2009

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