South African President Jacob Zuma has given his first State of the Nation address and, not surprisingly, economic issues have taken center stage. Will the current slump have an effect on Zuma’s plans? In his speech Zuma promised that the recession will not effect the general direction Zuma plans on taking, but it may slow the pace of reforms. But does slowing the pace of reforms in and of itself force something of a shift in direction, or at least priorities? His speech was relatively short on substance, which seems in keeping with Zuma, whose main appeal is personal rather than substantive, and who has, after all, only been in office for a short period of time.
