It is patently clear to me that the nation wants an honest and candid report on the state of our nation come the opening of Parliament, and not that sombre retort of January 8 2020. Second, it is also clear that many people are disillusioned after the “so-called” inaction on the part of President Cyril Ramaphosa. He is too slow, it seems he does not possess the urgency that is required, some going as far as to say he has no backbone, this president. It has been two years already and we have had only more of the same.

And so the dinner table conversations go on unabated. It is for this reason that I’m convinced the president must take the nation into his confidence and tell us exactly what it is he is enduring and what the possible solutions might be.

For starters, the State of the Nation Address (SONA) must be undergirded by talk of jobs, jobs and some more jobs. The two very good ideas the president outlined in his previous SONA, which made him the laughing stock of South Africa, must now find expression indeed — these being the building of a smart city, hopefully somewhere between Johannesburg and OR Tambo International Airport, and a bullet train, hopefully connecting Johannesburg with Durban and/or Cape Town. These two projects alone will create vast numbers of jobs in the short to medium term.

The manufacturing of all needed goods and material must be sourced only locally for both projects, thus stimulating the local domestic economy. In addition to this, much-needed maintenance on our existing infrastructure, roads, hospitals, schools and water is also required. Allocate the necessary resources (which will have to come from other budgetary pots) and let’s get South Africa working again.

Then there is the Eskom matter. Take us into your confidence, Mr President, and tell us, be bold, that we will have to endure this load shedding phenomenon for the next two years.

That after your fact-finding mission, you have come to the inescapable conclusion that Eskom’s baseload will now be reduced to 28,000MW and not the 48,000MW constantly being bandied about.

That over the said two-year period, active maintenance schedules will be implemented on the rest of the power stations in order to get them up to date and performing optimally. This would inevitably mean that over the next two years, Eskom will be able to provide the country with a fixed load-shedding schedule. Every Monday from 05h00-09h00, every Wednesday from 21h00-24h00 and so on and so forth. You get the picture.

Also, tell us how far your government is with the break-up proposal which you introduced at the last SONA. This, in my opinion, will give clarity to industry and reduce the frustration of our people at the same time. Meanwhile, Mr President, apologise for the delay in bringing the independent power producers (IPPs) on board and give a clear commitment as to how the last few administrative hurdles will be eliminated in this regard. Let’s assure the public that a 5,000MW reserve will be in place just for contingency purposes and hopefully we will never have to use it.

Finally, we demand from the IPPs that they please inject an additional 4,000MW into the grid to alleviate the constraints on Eskom. This, by the way, could easily create additional jobs into the thousands. It’s a win-win solution. Just a thought.

As for the economy, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has been at pains to inform us, the public, that the public sector wage bill is a huge problem.  We get it, in order to seriously make a dent into our debt levels, we must reduce the public sector wage bill, so let the fight commence. Be bold. The ideal is always that we talk first and see if we can come to some understanding, but history has shown us that organised labour in South Africa cares very little about the populace of our beautiful country and only concerns itself with its own members in their respective unions.

So, to commence the fight, announce to the nation that you and the Treasury have decided the best course of action is to introduce a ban on all public sector wage negotiations and that you will engage with the unions so that they see reason to a sector-by-sector wage freeze over the next five years. Meaning that this financial year, one or two of the public sectors will not receive wage increases as opposed to the others.

Perhaps we can start with education and the military, just by way of example. These two sectors will not get any increases, but will be eligible next year when Treasury decides that two other sectors will now not get increases. This way you are sure to make a significant dent in the debt levels in our country.

Needless to say, the private sector must also show just cause and come to the party: perhaps the time has come to introduce a developmental tax fund which will be administered by an independent banking authority and will be legislated as such — something equivalent to the skills levy fund, where perhaps an additional 2% of all JSE-listed companies’ profits are funnelled to such an account.

Assure the nation that the land question is progressing well, and within a rules-based system. Tell our people what government has done over the past 25 years as it relates to land restitution, land tenure and land redistribution and how exactly, post the legislative process, we will go about this matter of expropriation without compensation. What I have noticed when talking to various stakeholders is that the uncertainty of exactly what and how the government will implement this issue is what concerns citizens. So, clarify it Mr President.

Yes, the resolution of the governing party does make it clear that there must be expropriation without compensation, but it also states very clearly that such action cannot impinge on food security and certainly cannot disrupt our much-vaunted agriculture sector. Thus, what is it that your government will do to mitigate such very important concerns? Outline a process, Mr President. We have come a long way to date, to at least accept that a historical injustice must be corrected — the question is simply how to do it fairly.

The tax projections are beginning to look good again, thanks to new leadership at SARS, and other institutions are getting their groove and integrity back. Here I’m thinking of the NPA, Hawks and some sections of our police services.

Speak frankly about the misuse and abuse of our intelligence services under the previous administration and that you have given your full support to Minister Ayanda Dlodlo and her DG to implement the recommendations made by the high-level panel which investigated the said services. You are confident that the breakup of the service into the proposed domestic and international arms are well underway. Give us a deadline Sir.

Finally, you must tell us, the nation, that we elected you on a ticket that said very clearly we want you to clean up our country post the State Capture saga. Thus, take the nation into your confidence with regard to the fightback campaigners and tell us how far you are with the clean-up campaign. All I hear people saying, Mr President, is when are you arresting these culprits?

Now, you and I know that it’s not actually you personally who will arrest these fightback people, but urging the NPA and the Hawks to slightly expedite their endeavours would hardly amount to political interference. In fact, if anything, these people pose a national threat to the long-term security of the republic and as such must be dealt with as soon as possible, good sir.

We have all heeded the call, Thuma Mina — now it’s a call to action and ensuring a capable state.

Let it be known, that this is your presidency, and you can take that to the bank.

This, I suspect, is what our people would like to hear from you, Mr President. A frank, honest and deliberate report taking us into your confidence. Because by doing so, you forge a compact with the electorate, and when organised labour, disgruntled former ministers and/or looters want to pull in the opposite direction, the people will see them for who they are.

Be bold Mr President, you have our support. DM