This year’s State of the Nation address surprised absolutely no one.
Our president was forced by an election year to be less than candid with us.
It was always going to be a balancing act between a report back on the actual state of the nation, and sugar-coating his party’s image with promises of what’s to come with embellished success stories.
It’s not that he was outright lying, but more that he was being extremely economical with the truth.
It’s not like he could have highlighted government’s many failures and still hope to attract overwhelming support for the ANC at the polls later this year.
Also, his party would not have been very impressed with him, had he done that.
Although his Tintswalo analogy was fodder for cartoonists and social media couch comedians, as a narrative aimed at parents wanting better for their offspring, it wasn’t half bad.
I have no doubt that there are many examples of Tintswalos, whose lives are many times better under democracy than it would have been under Apartheid.
But that doesn’t mean it applies exclusively to an ANC-run democracy.
In fact, another political party may have been equal to the task, if not better.
But right now, the president’s main objective is his allegiance to his party, more than to his people, by drowning out the opposition as best he can.
Highlighting government’s supposed success benefits the ANC as the ruling party, which by extension will benefit the party at the polls.
Just by having the EFF barred from parliament, allowing Ramaphosa to make an uninterrupted speech, was probably the biggest win in that regard.
While this is without a doubt the weakest iteration of the ANC in the party’s existence, it still has a legacy that many older voters won’t ignore.
Especially since their own families have a Tintswalo enjoying opportunities, however meagre, that was denied to them when they were young and ambitious.