Zille says Zuma's State of the Nation was 'warm and fuzzy' [Plus Full Statement .PDF]

SHOOT: While Zuma did a nice job of dedicating epithets of his speech to Afrikaans (each three or four words received a resounding applause) and other ethnic languages, including his own - Zulu - and while the address was sensible, it didn't go into any details as to how it would address education, crime and economic crises. It is prudent that Zuma wishes to focus on the poor and on rural areas. Let's see if he does. Here's the priceless quote from his statement:" every cent must be spent wisely and fruitfully".

Critics say a black economic empowerment programme has only served a few black millionaires with close ties to the ANC.

clipped from www.sowetan.co.za PDF: Click here for the full State of the Nation speech South Africa must act now to minimise the impact of the global financial crisis on the poor, but still has to spend wisely, President Jacob Zuma said in his first state-of-the-nation address. “We take as our starting point the framework for South Africa’s response to the international economic crisis, concluded by government, labour and business,” Zuma said. “We must act now to minimise the impact of this downturn on those most vulnerable,” he said in a speech to parliament that lasted more than one hour. “I think it actually misses the opportunity to provide some clarity on setting targets, setting out an agenda,” he said. “Since the implementation of our programme will take place in the face of the economic downturn, we will have to act prudently — no wastage, no rollovers of funds — every cent must be spent wisely and fruitfully,” said Zuma.