It's been a rollercoaster couple of weeks in South
Africa. Just last week Jacob Zuma was president and the Guptas were untouchable.
Now we have a brand-new president and a new budget. The whole game has changed - it’s hard to keep up.
For starters, how was that State of the Nation address (SONA)? No walkouts, fist fights, Parliament security, cellphone signal jamming and MPs rising on points of order every five minutes.
Cyril Ramaphosa has brought respectability back to the National Assembly.
More than that, his opening speech has brought hope and inspiration, changing the whole of the mood of the nation in the space of two hours.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane could only stare in wonder, with a look on his face that said “I wanna be like him when I grow up”.
A forlorn Helen Zille was seen sighing deeply in the front benches, thinking “I’ll never get my turn”.
Even the EFF’s Julius Malema was not his normal self. When Cyril mentioned his name during his speech, Juju blushed like a schoolgirl. It was too cute.
SONA was a class act. Cyril certainly talked the talk. But will he walk the walk?
Well, by the time he vowed that government would crack down on state capture, the Guptas had already been raided and eight arrests made.
When he ordered that state-owned enterprises be cleaned up, the Eskom board had already been removed.
And there were more cheers when Cyril indicated that the size of his cabinet would be reviewed.
There would be lifestyle audits for politicians, too.
It was when he committed to fee-free university education and expropriation of land without compensation, however, when the opposition started skopping teen die kar.
Not the EFF, of course, but the DA and Vryheidsfront. This is going to be a moerse hot potato.
The ANC’s proposals for land reform and restitution have been gathering pace in recent times.
But they will come up against tough opposition from wealthy property owners who believe their land should not be shared, and that the injustices of the past is not their business.
Cyril is known to be a master negotiator, so let’s see how handles this one.
Then it was back to Parliament for Budget 2018.
The big news is that for the first time in 25 years, VAT has increased, from 14% to 15%.
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba explained that this was necessary in order to help offset a nearly R50 billion budget deficit.
How hard this increase will hit our pockets remains to be seen.
Opposition leaders and the trade unions have slammed the move, saying it will hit the poor the hardest.
Gigaba, however, begs to differ, saying basic foodstuff such as bread, maize, rice and beans will not be subject to the VAT increase.
It’s on luxury items, such as make-up, golf balls and “expensive” cellphones and vehicles, where government will be looking to score.
Dop en entjies... you know the story.
R57 billion has been set aside for free fees for the next three years.
R6bn will go towards drought relief - let’s see how much of that Cape Town will get.
Sadly, there’s little relief for pensioners, the disabled and child care beneficiaries - only R90.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Just a thought: If South Africa has a R50bn deficit, and the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit has been tasked with recovering R50bn looted from the state, why punish ordinary citizens?