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As a build up to the much anticipated State of the Nation Address (SoNA), the Centre for African Renaissance Studies (CARS) at Unisa, the Centre for Politics and Research (CPR) and the Sunday Independent co-hosted a symposium at the Unisa Little Theatre on 4 February 2010.
February is an important month in our South African calendar as the President of the Republic of South Africa delivers his State of the Nation Address. The symposium created a space for some of South Africa’s leading intellectuals to thoroughly reflect on the state of our nation as seen through the eyes of intellectuals.
Generally, the approach has been to wait for the President to first deliver his SoNA before observers begin to make their own reflections. In most cases, commentators offer sound bites to the media as an attempt to predict what the President is likely to focus on. The problem with the sound-bite approach is that it is shallow and does not provide space for a thorough, non-governmental reflection on various aspects of our nation’s life. The objective of the symposium was also to dispel the myth that the SoNA can be only be captured by the President. While his view is based on a governmental approach, society sees the reflection as much bigger.
In this regard, the parties involved used this symposium as an alternative to the sound-bite approach where intellectuals were given the platform to make their own reflections on various topics concerning the nation.
Facilitated by Sunday Independent editor, Makhudu Sefara, the symposium included the following speakers: Prof Shadrack Gutto, Dr Mzukisi Qobo and Mr Prince Mashele.
Prof Gutto, Director for the Centre for African Renaissance Studies and a constitutional lawyer by trade, was the perfect candidate for his speech entitled "The state of the constitution and the rule of law".
He highlighted that "a country exists in a world and interacts with the world. So in South Africa, the idea of constitutional supremacy is not the only law." Prof Gutto shared his dissatisfaction that even though we have a system of security services, there are "leakages within". He made reference to the fact that there have been many studies done and books published questioning the kind of constitution we are running. Prof Gutto concluded on a hopeful note saying that "it has been a year of change in our judicial system and we look forward as we move into a regime with powers that make contributions to society."
Next up was Dr Qobo, Head of the Established Powers, Emerging Powers and Global Challenges Programme of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), who holds a PhD in Political Science. His passion about the issues of leadership led to his talk entitled "The state of leadership, ethics and values".
He introduced his talk by saying that "the issue of values is a powerful solid, without which the country cannot sustain itself." Dr Qobo questioned the kind of shared values we embrace as a nation and went on to say that "as a nation we have understood a myriad of challenges like racism, but not paid attention to softer degenerations." He was very frank in his thoughts on the state of our country by saying that "the nation is in a moral and social decline. We expect our leaders to lead by example because their actions have consequences for our nation." Dr Qobo made a thought-provoking point by saying that "in the fluid global environment we live in today, we need more inspirational leaders and integrity."
Last on the panel to deliver his thoughts was Mr Mashele, a Political Scientist by training and an Executive Director for the Centre for Politics and Research, who gave an interesting talk entitled "The state of politics and leadership".
He delved straight into the state of politics in South Africa and the wrongful acts of political parties, who have created the illusion that they need to "redeem" society. He stated that "our redeemers" lack substance. Mr Mashele went on to say that "we have come to a stage in our politics when we no longer look for substance from our 'redeemers' because there is no substance there – instead there is political rot. Our politics has degenerated."
On conclusion of the panel, the floor was opened up for the audience to share their provoking thoughts and pose questions to the panel and each other. This proved to be a very interesting evening with a room full of intellects talking about the state of our nation, their disappointments and vision for a better country.
11 February was chosen for this year’s SoNA with the objective of celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of former President Nelson Mandela from prison. This is seen as a day to bring all South Africans together to mark the defining moment in the history of our country. | 
