President Cyril Ramaphosa (get used to that phrase) has a series of difficult tasks in front of him which require the building of coalitions of interests groups, with a series of formidable opponents trying to stop him. And while there was applause galore on Friday night, that was not necessarily because he got everything absolutely right. It was because of who he wasn’t almost as much as who he was. It was a celebration of the final victory over a former president who, incidentally, didn’t bother to attend the proceedings.

What this speech demonstrates is that Ramaphosa has a clear idea of what exactly the problems are, and is already making a stab at resolving them. There were no hard and fast solutions on the table quite yet, but many promises of summits and consultation. That, of course, was always the promise under that former president, but it was never followed up. This time it really looks like things will be different. Ramaphosa has already appeared to ensure that many of these constituencies will be brought in to any decision making processes. But this speech also demonstrates that very real change is on the horizon, which could see policy being transformed. And with certain careers being limited.

For Ramaphosa, part of our economic picture is obvious:

“Tough decisions have to made to close our fiscal gap, stabilise our debt and restore our state-owned enterprises to health.”

It’s amazing how the identity of the person who delivers the message matters. The same line could have come from Ramaphosa’s predecessor, and you would not have believed it. This time you do. It’s a bit like the difference between that line coming from say Pravin Gordhan and the person who is currently (at the time of writing) finance minister.

Then came the promise of a Jobs Summit, which will involve “every stakeholder”. This is all fine and well. But you cannot, unfortunately, create jobs for the sake of jobs. We can only make and provide services for people who will consume those goods and services. When Ramaphosa promises to “reindustrialise” through creating jobs in manufacturing, you are still stuck at the perennial South African question: what can we make or provide that cannot be done better or cheaper in China or Vietnam?

The answer, my friends, is not so much blowing in the wind, but lying underneath us. And so Ramaphosa pivoted, by way of the promise of a “Youth Working Group”, to the Mining Charter. It is by now surely self-evident that the current Mining Charter as proposed by the Minister of Mineral Resources (again, at the time of writing) Mosebenzi Zwane, is simply unsustainable. In fact, it seems likely that the whole reason the Mining Charter was proposed, in the way Zwane proposed it, was simply to pick a fight with “White Monopoly Capital” ahead of the ANC’s Nasrec conference. For Ramaphosa, “we will intensify engagement with all stakeholders on the Mining Charter to ensure that it is truly an effective instrument to sustainably transform the face of mining in South Africa”. To read between the lines, Zwane is not long for this Cabinet.

Bathabile Dlamini, the Minister of Social Development (at 23:23 on Friday night) was not present in the chamber. Apparently she had better things to do. Which is why she missed her president explaining that when it comes to social grants, “I want to personally allay fears of any disruption to the efficient delivery of this critical service, and will take action to ensure no person in government is undermining implementation deadlines set by the court”. It is not, obviously, going to end well for her. Considering that there really is nothing as evil as trying to profit out of paying social grants in this country, she deserves everything that is coming to her.

When someone is delivering their first big speech as president, it is probably a waste of time to ask about the scale of their ambition. It is already on display. But Ramaphosa is also going to tackle a problem that has grown over the years. The person who was President between Kgalema Motlanthe and Ramaphosa had a nasty habit of creating new departments and ministries, so as to buy more people off through patronage. No more. Ramaphosa will “initiate a process to review the configuration, number and size of national government departments”. Yes, some of the ministries will go. And so will their ministers, their bloated staffs, and the two German cars per minister.

It is well known that some of our state-owned entities literally pose a threat to our entire economy. Eskom was saved at the last minute, and change is now a’coming. The boards will be appointed so that “only people with expertise, experience and integrity serve in these vital positions”, board members will be removed from “any role in procurement”, and generally it’s all going to be fixed. It will be difficult and tough, but man it’s important.

Then came the tough talk against corruption. The man who’s last name began with the final letter of the alphabet used to do this talk too. As someone who would be sitting in the media gallery, it was always tough just not to laugh out loud. But again, it’s about the identity of the person speaking. For Ramaphosa, the priority is obvious:

“We will urgently attend to the leadership issues at the National Prosecuting Authority, to ensure that this critical institution is stabilised and able to perform its mandate unhindered.”

The sheep is out of there. And one hopes that the sheepdog takes a bite out of him on the way.

Something similar is going to happen at SARS. There is to be a commission of inquiry into “tax administration and governance at SARS”. It’s pretty obvious how this will end, with a recommendation that SARS Commissioner (still this late on Friday night) Tom Moyane be removed.

Interestingly, and revealingly, something fascinating happened in the aftermath of Ramaphosa’s speech. Radio 702 joined the happy throng of people on the steps of the National Assembly to get reaction to the address. Karima Brown managed to snag ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule, and asked him what he thought of Moyane. Magashule said that he was a “capable administrator” who had done good work at SARS.

Well, one is entitled to one’s point of view. But literally two minutes before that, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel had said on the same radio station that there were “fundamental problems” at SARS, and that the president was right to appoint such a commission. To add to Magashule’s splendid isolation, the Chair of the ANC, Gwede Mantashe, agreed that there were big problems at SARS that needed to be addressed. Magashule’s twisting in the wind over the next few weeks is going to be an entrancing, albeit horrific sight.

Strangely, in the space provided for interviews for the media, there was no sign of the deputy leader of the ANC, Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza.

All in all, it was an evening of peace. Of dignity. Of hope. And of real excitement. That the future is going to be different from the past, that life will get better, that when you go out into the world as a South African you no longer have to be embarrassed. You are already, in world terms, richer than you were when Whatshisname was still in charge: the rand, really, has picked itself up. As we move into the weekend, and a probable reshuffle, it is with joy and glee. It is fun, once again, to be a South African. DM

Photo: President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa (C) arrives to deliver his (SONA) State of the Nation address at the Parliament, in Cape Town, South Africa, 16 February 2018. President Ramaphosa was sworn in on 15 February 2018, after ex President Zuma’s resignation a day earlier, after intense pressure to resign amidst corruption and state capture allegations. EPA-EFE/NASIEF MANIE