JOHANNESBURG, June 18 (Xinhua) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to deliver the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday, which is expected to focus on issues relating to energy and jobs.
Congress of South African Trade Union (Cosatu) spokesman Sizwe Pamla told Xinhua that the president should tackle issues affecting state-owned entities.
"We face a possible collapse of Eskom, South African Airways, South African Broadcasting Corporation and uncontrollable levels of corruption," he said.
Pamla said the union federation expects a bold plan on employment creation.
"While we don't expect millions of jobs to be created over night, we do expect a comprehensive plan for job creation that involves the creation of new businesses and the expansion of the economy into growth industries such as energy, water and automation," he said.
Cosatu's sentiments on the creation on new businesses were shared by Prof. Jannie Rossouw from Wits university.
"The president will have to tell the nation that the bureaucratic oversupply will be reduced. The control and the regulation of the economy must be relaxed so that small companies can do better and create jobs," he said.
On Tuesday, the presidency said Ramaphosa met with Eskom board members in an effort to stabilize the debt ridden company.
"It is expected that the President will announce further measures to support Eskom's efforts at recovery and financial and operational sustainability," Presidential spokeperson Khusela Diko said in a statement.
