HE SPOKE for just under an hour – a speech of about 7000 words. But what was most important about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address was not what he said. It was what he did not say.
The 21-gun salute has become integral to the pomp and splendour associated with the event – the first shot going off as the first strings of the national anthem are played.
But this time you couldn’t help but wonder whether South Africa’s guns would have better served our soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
As the president stood to attention, television news crawlers broke the news that there were delays in getting the bodies of our fallen soldiers back home.
Fourteen of them died in action against the M23 rebels in the eastern part of the DRC.
As the anthem ended, the cameras cut to a flypast of three helicopters from the South African Airforce Force.
The Rooivalk – a homegrown attack helicopter – was not among them.
In 2013 it helped South African soldiers under a UN mandate soundly defeat the M23 rebels.
For this latest battle there was no money to get the Rooivalks in the air and no way of getting them to the DRC and over the skies of Goma. And so, our soldiers, and those who joined them from the Southern African Development Community, were humbled.
Also absent were our Grippen fighter planes. These are modern supersonic planes that undoubtedly would have ruled the skies over the battlefield. But with no money to service them let alone upgrade their electronic systems, they sit grounded in South Africa.
Ramaphosa did the right thing by naming those who fell in battle. It was only fitting that he declared our national flag be flown at half-mast in honour of their “tragic death”.
He rightly pointed out that they gave their lives so that the guns on our continent could forever be silenced.
But what he didn’t say was that he, as their commander-in-chief, sent them to war without the resources they needed to get the job done.
A gathering of humanity
Seventy years ago, South Africans of different races came together on a dusty soccer field in Kliptown and adopted the Freedom Charter.
In his speech, Ramaphosa reminded South Africans that this document was the cornerstone of our democratic Constitution. It sets out a vision of a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa”.
Those MPs and guests who listened to Ramaphosa mirrored the diversity that was present in Kliptown all those years ago – people of different races and different religions. Young and old. Men and women and those from the alphabet community all united by their desire to build a better country and improve the lives of all South Africans.
Among them were members of the Government of National Unity made up of ten political parties that are part of Ramaphosa’s executive.
It is a stark contrast to the hatred that defines the relationship between so many Jews and Palestinians in the Middle East or Hutus and Tutsis in the DRC.
“We are witnessing the rise of nationalism and protectionism, the pursuit of narrow interests and the decline of common cause,” noted Ramaphosa. “We will not be bullied,” he said.
“As South Africans, we stand for peace and justice, for equality and solidarity. We stand for non-racialism and democracy, for tolerance and compassion.
“We stand for equal rights for women, for persons with disability and for members of the LGBTQ+ community. We stand for our shared humanity, not for the survival of the fittest.”
What he did not say was those words were more likely directed at Donald Trump than the ordinary South African.
In the last few days, the American president has attacked South Africa. It culminated in Marco Rubio, the American Secretary of State, saying he would boycott a meeting of G20 foreign ministers due to be held later this month in Johannesburg.
Those in the G20 represent the 20 biggest economies worldwide. It is the first time in the group’s 25-year history that an African country is the host nation.
Trump has made several decisions that change the current world order. One of them is his decision to temporarily stop funding USAID projects (United States Agency for International Development).
The aim is to determine whether American tax dollars are being well spent. But the decision has far-reaching implications for South Africa’s fight against HIV and tuberculosis.
According to Ramaphosa about 17% of South Africa’s HIV spend is funded by USAID.
But what Ramaphosa didn’t say was why South Africa, a member of the G20, is happy to accept donations when it should have the ability to take care of its own people.
Overall, there were no surprises in Ramaphosa’s address. There were many “we will” promises that we know from experience will never materialise.
The speech was predictable - at times boring. But it was consistent. Sober. Rational. Logical. Responsible. Little will change.
As Trump sets out to Make America Great Again, it is worth reflecting on our own greatness.
Seventy years ago, our forebears who gathered in Kliptown dreamed of a society where everyone was treated equally – where our diversity was embraced.
In 1994, we made that dream a reality. Two years later the Constitution we adopted was a celebration of humanity.
It is true that we are by no means a perfect nation. But we are the closest humanity has come to being united.
Ramaphosa may not have said it, but his address implied it.
Aakash Bramdeo is the Content Editor at eNCA. The views expressed here don't reflect those of the newspaper and Independent Media.
This piece was first published on www.eNCA.com